TINE cardboard cups “the future of packaging”
However, the Norwegian dairy company said, during an intermediate phase, the cardboard sour cream pots will still have a plastic lid.
Since mid-September, TINE's lightweight cardboard containers have been available in KIWI stores across the country.
TINE sustainability manager, Bjørn Malm, said the cardboard products are being well received. He added that the company will continue to make improvements to what he said is “the future of packaging.”
The cup has 36% less CO2 emissions than its predecessor. The test in KIWI was to ensure that the cup works in transport, in the store and not least at the home of the Norwegian people in the refrigerator and on the kitchen table.
Malm said that while the project is “risky and expensive,” it is also imperative that a major player such as TINE contributes to a more environmentally friendly industry.
So far in the pilot period, the new product has increased in sales week by week.
However, even as the trial phase reaches an end, Malm said changes need to be made, noting that comments include people finding that the seal is difficult to get off and that the lid does not sit well enough on the product.
“We are working hard to solve this and hope people will give the cup a second chance if they were among the few unlucky ones who experienced problems in the first round,” he added.
Changes to the lid will be made before Christmas, before the cardboard cup is rolled out in all stores from February 2020.
Malm said while the company works on a solution for the cardboard lids, plastic ones will be used.
The company aims to have 100% renewable packaging by 2023.
