At Mars, we believe the world we want tomorrow starts with how we do business today. That’s why we’re rethinking our approach to packaging. In fact, we’ve committed to 100% of our plastic packaging to be reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025. 

Our efforts to reduce and redesign are significant shifts that will require transformation for many of our packages, and each one will have to meet the requirements of many different waste and collection systems in markets around the globe.

Our Mars Wrigley France team is advancing us toward that vision with the launch of a new M&M^® Choco 300g pouch.

The new pouch is designed to be recyclable, according to the existing local packaging waste collection and sorting system – and is only made of one type of plastic resin (polyethylene). Previous multi-layer packaging included both polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP). By simplifying the design and structure of our flexible packaging formats we are significantly improving their chances to be recycled, while guaranteeing the same standards of quality and food safety for our consumers.

“We are proud, as a team, to be part of finding the solutions to the sustainable packaging problems we currently face as a business to ensure we live our values and purpose,” said Russ Avens, Regional Packaging Director, R&D, Mars Wrigley Europe, CIS and Turkey. “We have transformed the mono-pouch to be more sustainable without compromising quality and food safety.”

Test and learning through ‘hero projects’

While 19% of our plastic packaging is recyclable in practice and at scale, we still have work to do. Reaching our goals will require trying and testing new approaches to discover the best path to meeting recycling requirements in different markets. 

This M&M^® Choco 300g pouch pilot is part of Hero Projects, our ongoing Mars Wrigley program in Europe that tests alternative and sustainable packaging solutions. The mono-material M&M’s^® Choco pouch is the first material-design-change pilot to be launched by Mars Wrigley in a European market as part of this testing phase. 

The new pouch will be available for eight months via two retailers in France, then Mars Wrigley will determine the most viable options to continue in its various markets. 

Mars commitment to sustainable packaging

Mars is a core partner of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation New Plastic Economy initiative and a signatory of their Global Commitment to eliminate plastic waste and pollution at its source. Our vision is aligned with theirs: to support a circular economy where packaging never becomes waste.

To advance towards this vision, by 2025 we plan to reduce our virgin plastic use by 25% and 100% of our plastic packaging to be reusable, recyclable or compostable.

We’re therefore rethinking our approach to packaging by: 

1. Reducing packaging that we don’t need 
2. Redesigning the packaging that we do need for circularity
3. And investing to close the loop

Learn how pilot projects like M&M^® Choco 300g pouch help drive toward our broader sustainability goals by exploring our Sustainable in a Generation Plan.