Sainsbury’s has switched from plastic to paper packaging on twin packs of its own-label avocados.
The supermarket began trialling the change at 77 of its stores from January and will roll it out more widely if the trial is deemed to be a success.
The new plastic-free packaging consists of a paper bag, with netting made from bamboo. It is fully recyclable at the kerbside, which could save an estimated 20.2 million pieces of plastic once fully rolled out, Sainsbury’s said.
“Switching to paper packaging across our ripe & ready avocados twin-pack is one of the many steps we are taking to fulfil our commitment towards a greener future,” said Claire Hughes, Sainsbury’s director of product and innovation.
“The initiative reflects our continuous efforts to help develop more sustainable and innovative packaging solutions and we’re excited for our customers to try out the new packaging in-store.”
It’s the latest packaging change Sainsbury’s has made to its fresh lines, following the adoption of cardboard punnets on its Taste the Difference berries and cherries lines last year, as well as a switch from plastic to cardboard trays on own label mushroom punnets in January 2024.
Sainsbury’s has the long-term aim of cutting its use of plastic packaging by 50% by 2025, from a 2018 baseline. It rolled out similar packaging switches to its fresh bakery products in September. That followed earlier switches to toilet and kitchen roll wrapping and steak trays over the previous year, as well as a controversial, but now widely copied switch to vacuum packaging in its fresh mince lines in February 2023.
The new avocado packaging will be the latest own label to feature Sainsbury’s new ’Healthy Choice’ logo, which launched at the start of the year as of way of highlighting better-for-you products on shelves.
It’s not the first grocer to focus on avocados recently. In June 2024, Tesco and Westphalia Fruit began a trial to remove barcode stickers from extra-large avocado lines, instead replacing them with laser etching.
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