Nestlé is converting its Nesquik ready-to-drink portfolio to a new recyclable shrink sleeve label made with light-blocking print technology that is compatible with the U.S. recycling stream, helping make the bottle easier for consumers to recycle. The shrink sleeve—which is a product label that conforms to the bottle—will be available on all Nesquik ready-to-drink bottles this summer, making it Nestlé’s first product on-shelf with a recyclable shrink sleeve that leverages light-blocking technology.
The new shrink sleeve is made with materials that allow the bottle and sleeve to be recycled together, with the ambition that the packaging material can be reincorporated with the plastic supply stream and made into another PET bottle, helping create a circular economy for packaging. With this sleeve, the entire Nesquik ready-to-drink bottle will be recyclable—meaning consumers can put the entire package, including cap, bottle and shrink sleeve into their recycling bin without needing to remove the sleeve.
All seven Nesquik ready-to-drink flavors are expected to convert to the new sleeve by June 2024. With this transition, an estimated 4,500 metric tons of PET plastic will be easier for consumers to recycle each year and more likely to be sorted accurately at recycling facilities.
Light-Blocking Attributes to Ensure Product Quality
Nestlé is working across its portfolio to make all of its packaging recyclable or reusable, yet the path to a circular economy for food and beverage packaging comes with unique considerations. Developing a recyclable solution for the brand’s shrink sleeve posed a significant technical challenge, as ready-to-drink Nesquik requires its sleeves to be light-blocking. This is because some products—like a milk-based, ready-to-drink Nesquik beverage—have attributes that are susceptible to light, such as taste, color, and vitamin-level.
When Nestlé first set out to transition its Nesquik bottles to a recyclable sleeve in 2019, there was no recyclable solution available in market yet that also leveraged the light-blocking features required for the product.
“Packaging protects food and beverages and helps ensure our products remain high-quality for our consumers,” said Chastity McLeod, VP Sustainability, Nestlé North America. “It was essential to find a solution that would maintain the quality and shelf life of the product, while also offering the benefit of making recycling the bottle easier for consumers. Our teams are constantly innovating to extend the use of packaging materials as a valuable resource that can be leveraged again—This innovation is a big step forward as we continue to drive progress on Nestlé’s packaging ambitions across our U.S. portfolio.”
Five Years of R&D to Bring the Solution to Life
The solution took nearly five years to bring to life and Nestlé began the process in late 2019 with conversations across multiple different packaging suppliers, exploring different materials, light transmittance, and aesthetics.
