Confectioner Calico Cottage is to axe single-use packaging, replacing it with compostable alternatives across its entire portfolio – in what the Cambridgeshire business has claimed is an industry first.
Calico, which supplies fudge and other sweets to many major UK tourist attractions, this week dropped plastic for its impulse bags, which comprise about 80% of the business’ sales.
They have been swapped for transparent bags made from sustainably sourced wood pulp, but with the look and feel of plastic. The labels are made from a sugar cane by-product.
The new packs took six to 12 weeks to break down and disappear in soil or seawater, said Calico, which worked with packaging suppliers Futamura and Direct Packaging to launch the eco-friendly range.
It is the result of almost a year’s planning and a spend of at least £20,000. The investment was “significant but well worth doing” said Calico managing director Nigel Baker.
The supplier has an annual turnover of about £2.5m. It produces more than 100 types of sweets and sells almost one million bags per year.
Its compostable packs will appear on shelf in coming weeks at venues including Chester Zoo, the British Museum and Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, with Kew Gardens and Blue Diamond Garden Centres to follow later in the year.
“We are hugely passionate about this and have been working long hours to come up with a solution using a range of technologies,” Baker added. “I am proud that we have brought it to market so quickly.”
Calico hopes to make its sharing bags compostable within the next few weeks. It then plans to launch biodegradable chocolate boxes.
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