Berry Global and Mars, Incorporated Announce the Launch of Recycled Content Packaging

By: Berry Global Group, Inc. via Business Wire

September 27, 2022 at 09:00 AM EDT

Together the companies are driving positive societal impact through new M&M’S®, SKITTLES®, and STARBURST® packaging with 15% recycled plastic

Berry Global Group, Inc. (NYSE: BERY) is collaborating with snack and treats leader Mars, Incorporated to launch its popular pantry-sized treats in polyethylene terephthalate (PET) jars that have been optimized to be lighter weight and include 15% post-consumer resin (PCR). With the shared mission of creating more sustainable packaging solutions, Berry and Mars will launch the new jars for the M&M’S®, SKITTLES®, and STARBURST® brands later this month.

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Berry Global and Mars, Incorporated announce the launch of recycled content packaging. Together the companies are driving positive societal impact through new M&M’S®, SKITTLES®, and STARBURST® packaging with 15% recycled plastic. The jars, which come in three sizes, 60-, 81-, 87-ounces, offer the same look and feel and will eliminate approximately 300 tons of virgin plastic per year. (Photo: Business Wire)

The easy-grip square jars are produced at Berry’s manufacturing facility, using a single-pellet, food-grade resin to assure a clean, consistent substrate sourced from mechanical recycling. With a history of results in light-weighting, Berry approached Mars with the new concept including PCR. Berry brought its problem-solving and technical expertise to the table to help Mars make progress toward their sustainability goals. In addition to the inclusion of PCR, the jar is also widely recyclable.

“By leveraging our material science expertise and technical resources, we proactively created a solution for Mars without disruption to product performance. Through partnerships and creative thinking such as this, customers look to Berry for unique solutions to their sustainability challenges,” said Brian Hunt, an EVP and General Manager for Berry Global’s Consumer Packaging North America Division.

The jars, which come in three sizes, 60-, 81-, 87-ounces, offer the same look and feel and will eliminate approximately 300 tons of virgin plastic per year.

For the 81- and 87-ounce jars, Berry also was able to reduce the weight by 10 grams per jar, saving 374 metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO₂)¹. The CO₂ savings are equivalent to²:

42,084 gallons of gasoline consumed
45,494,350 number of smartphones charged
72.8 homes’ electricity use for one year

As part of Mars’ ongoing commitment to sustainability, the company is investing hundreds of millions of dollars to reimagine and redesign its packaging. “At Mars, we want to contribute to a circular economy where packaging material never becomes waste, but is recycled, reused or composted,” said Justin Comes, Vice President of R&D, Mars Wrigley North America. “We have set an aggressive, science-based strategy to innovate our packaging and this change to 15% PCR for these large-format jars is a significant step towards a more sustainable future.”

As a leader in the food packaging industry, Berry leveraged its unmatched global capabilities, sustainability leadership, and deep innovation expertise to help bring this more sustainable bottling solution to market.

Berry collaborated with Mars to develop a jar that runs seamlessly through its production and distribution system, while delivering on consumer interests in more sustainable packaging experience for M&M’S®, SKITTLES®, and STARBURST® brands.

¹Source: https://plasticsrecycling.org/images/library/APR-Recycled-vs-Virgin-May2020.pdf

²Source: https://www.epa.gov/energy/greenhouse-gas-equivalencies-calculator

About Berry

At Berry Global Group, Inc. (NYSE: BERY), we create innovative packaging and engineered products that we believe make life better for people and the planet. We do this every day by leveraging our unmatched global capabilities, sustainability leadership, and deep innovation expertise to serve customers of all sizes around the world. Harnessing the strength in our diversity and industry leading talent of 47,000 global employees across more than 295 locations, we partner with customers to develop, design, and manufacture innovative products with an eye toward the circular economy. The challenges we solve and the innovations we pioneer benefit our customers at every stage of their journey. For more information, visit our website at berryglobal.com, or connect with us on LinkedIn or Twitter.

About Mars, Incorporated

Mars, Incorporated is driven by the belief that the world we want tomorrow starts with how we do business today. As a global, family-owned business, Mars is transforming, innovating, and evolving to make a positive impact on the world.

Across our diverse and expanding portfolio of quality confectionery, food, and pet care products and services, we employ 140,000+ dedicated Associates. With almost $45 billion in annual sales, we produce some of the world’s best-loved brands including Ben’s Original™, CESAR®, Cocoavia®, DOVE®, EXTRA®, KIND®, M&M’s®, SNICKERS®, PEDIGREE®, ROYAL CANIN®, and WHISKAS®. We are creating a better world for pets through our global network of pet hospitals and diagnostic services – including AniCura, BANFIELD™, BLUEPEARL™, Linnaeus and VCA™ – using cutting edge technology to develop breakthrough programs in genetic health screening and DNA testing.

For more information about Mars, please visit www.mars.com. Join us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube.

(BERY-E)