Mars Wrigley’s BALISTO® Chocolate Bar Now in Paper for German Retail

Mars Wrigley Germany is offering a chocolate bar in a paper-based packaging for the first time and together with its German retail partner EDEKA Minden-Hannover (regional company of the EDEKA association). More than 90 percent of the packaging of the 100,000 multipacks (each contains 9 single bars) is made of paper. With this test, Mars Wrigley reduces the use of packaging plastic by around 440 kilograms. The sustainable BALISTO^® multipacks will be available in more than 500 EDEKA markets in the region from February. The BALISTO^® Multipacks will be available from February.

The BALISTO^® Pilot is just one of many projects launched worldwide this year in all Mars business areas. The company’s goal is to make all packaging reusable, recyclable and compostable by 2025 and to reduce the consumption of new plastic by 25 percent. Laurence Etienne, Managing Director Mars Wrigley Germany: “A product is only truly sustainable if it is also sustainably packaged. For the first time we offer a chocolate biscuit bar in paper. We are pleased to implement this important step in our global packaging strategy here in the German market.”

The intensive cooperation with EDEKA Minden-Hannover, Germany, is a cornerstone of the project. “We are delighted to be part of this pilot project. EDEKA Minden-Hannover itself has been working for years as part of its sustainability strategy for the use of sustainable packaging as well as for the reduction of plastic waste,” says Dirk Koerner, Managing Director Purchase at EDEKA Minden-Hannover.

BALISTO^® Honey-Almond: new sustainable packaging – same great taste

Chocolate places high demands on packaging. On the one hand, it must maintain optimal taste and quality, and, on the other hand, it must reliably protect the product from contamination and moisture. The packaging developed for Mars from special paper is more than 90 percent natural fibers and is FSC^® and PEFC™ certified. A thin barrier coating protects the chocolate and prevents it from being greased outwards.

The project will show how the paper material proves itself in practice, for example in the production and assembly in the factory located in Viersen (Germany), during transport and on the shelf. How customers accept sustainable packaging is also crucial to success. All the lessons learned will feed into the future design of the packaging for the Mars chocolate bar portfolio.

Functional, safe and sustainable packaging for all Mars products

The launch of the BALISTO^® pilot project is an important step towards achieving the company’s goal of making all packaging sustainable by 2025. Mars’ packaging strategy specifically aims to avoid unnecessary packaging and to use recyclable materials. In addition, the use of new materials such as paper or recycled plastic is intended to reduce the consumption of virgin plastics by 25 percent. “Our packaging should be part of the circular economy so that no packaging becomes waste. To this end, we invest in sustainable solutions and the development of recycling systems and work closely with partners such as the Ellen MacArthur Foundation,” says Laurence Etienne.

Please find more information https://deu.mars.com/Balisto-Pilotprojekt

About Mars, Incorporated
For more than a century, Mars, Incorporated has been driven by the belief that the world we want tomorrow starts with how we do business today. This idea is at the center of who we have always been as a global, family-owned business. Today, Mars is transforming, innovating and evolving in ways that affirm our commitment to making a positive impact on the world around us.            

Across our diverse and expanding portfolio of confectionery, food, and petcare products and services, we employ 133,000 dedicated Associates who are all moving in the same direction: forward. With $40 billion in annual sales, we produce some of the world’s best-loved brands including DOVE^®, EXTRA^®, M&M’s^®, MILKY WAY^®, SNICKERS^®, TWIX^®, ORBIT^®, PEDIGREE^®, ROYAL CANIN^®, SKITTLES^®, BEN’S ORIGINAL™, WHISKAS^®, COCOAVIA^®, and 5™; and take care of half of the world’s pets through our pet health services AniCura, Banfield Pet Hospitals™, BluePearl^®, Linnaeus, Pet Partners™, and VCA™.

We know we can only be truly successful if our partners and the communities in which we operate prosper as well. The Mars Five Principles — Quality, Responsibility, Mutuality, Efficiency and Freedom — inspire our Associates to take action every day to help create a world tomorrow in which the planet, its people and pets can thrive. For more information about Mars, please visit www.mars.com.