Mondelēz International has completed a Europe-wide switch from rigid PET plastic trays to FSC-certified paper trays across more than 115 cookie products, removing an estimated 2,200 tonnes of virgin plastic from its packaging footprint each year.

The change covers eight brands — LU, Milka, Granola, Cadbury, Marabou, Chips Ahoy!, Lacta and Freia — across more than 25 European markets, including the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Poland, Spain and the Nordic countries. The products collectively account for around 28,000 tonnes of cookies produced annually. 

The move is significant for the scale of the packaging change. Mondelēz has replaced a component across a large, established product portfolio rather than introducing a new format for a limited launch.

The company says the switch represents an approximately 80% reduction in the plastic packaging used for the products, based on projected 2026 production volumes and comparing the previous packaging with the new format. The calculation includes both the outer wrap and PET tray. 

In the UK, the change affects products including Cadbury Crunchy Melts, Cadbury Chocolate Chip Cookie and LU Petit Cookie. It follows other packaging changes by Mondelēz, including trials of paper tubs for Cadbury Heroes and paper outer packaging for Cadbury Animals and Mini Fingers multipacks.

Packaging becomes a production challenge

Moving from plastic to paper trays at this scale is not simply a material substitution. Tray design, product protection, packing-line compatibility, logistics and end-of-life considerations all have to work together.

Mondelēz says the transition required changes across its packaging system, from tray design through to logistics. That makes the project relevant beyond the sustainability benefit: it demonstrates the engineering and operational implications of changing a packaging component across high-volume, established food products. 

The company has also previously used around 80% recycled PET in trays for brands including Milka, Oreo, Cadbury and Chips Ahoy!, highlighting the different routes available to manufacturers seeking to reduce the impact of rigid packaging. 

For Mondelēz, the paper-tray programme forms part of its wider target to reduce virgin rigid plastic by 25% globally by 2030, compared with 2020. 

The wider manufacturing question is how far such packaging changes can be replicated across other high-volume food categories. Mondelēz’s move shows that replacing a relatively small packaging component can have a substantial material impact when applied consistently across thousands of tonnes of annual production.

For food manufacturers, it also underlines that packaging reduction increasingly involves the interaction of material selection, pack performance, production equipment and supply-chain logistics.