Quality Street fan bemoan the loss of the classic tin format as eco-friendly paper tub emerges
The latest move from Nestle to make its classic Quality Street tubs more eco-friendly has perhaps understandably garnered a mixed reaction from fans of the brand.
At face value, it’s hard to argue with an initiative that is targeting being more sustainable, even if it it is made with paper sourced from what are asserted as renewable paper sources from locations that are committed to replanting trees.
So while these goals are definitely to be encouraged and fit very much with the direction of travel in terms of companies seeking to drive significant reduction in their carbon footprint and manufacturing practices. But on the other, a fair number of consumers are seemingly unhappy at a series of changes that have been made across the wider sector in recent year.
As far as the Quality Street tub is concerned, many shoppers still lament the loss of the traditional Tin format that had been a staple of the British confectionery market for generations.
Consumers have been quick to make their views known on social media, including on X (formerly Twitter), in which one user wrote in response to the change to a paper-based tub : “Sadly one change too many. Smaller pouches already paper so it’s not just that. You have taken all our favourites out. The clue was in the name. You just aren’t our “Quality Street” any more.
Others questioned whether the move was in fact terribly environmental given that it uses paper, which still has to be sourced from forests, so its sustainability credentials are open to debate.
Responding to such comments, the company said: “We are committed to a waste-free future, and in working towards that ensuring that none of our packaging ends up as litter or as landfill. We are constantly evolving and considering innovative new approaches to packaging,” so it will indeed be interesting to see if this latest trial is adopted, but from its initial mixed response, it may well be that a further re-think might be in the offing.
Neill Barston, editor, Confectionery Production magazine
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