As consumer demand for sustainable food options in eco-friendly packaging continues to rise globally, brands are increasingly developing innovative packaging solutions to minimise their environmental impact, while maintaining product integrity.
Quorn, the UK’s No.1 meat-free brand[1] has taken a significant step forward by eliminating printed carton sleeves from its packaging, currently across four of its Cauldron and Quorn products (Cumberland Sausages, Lincolnshire Sausages, Brilliant Bangers and Mozzarella & Pesto Escalopes).Quorn has adopted surface-printing on the existing top-web and incorporated a base label, using current manufacturing lines and minimal movement of already available equipment. This transition provides multiple environmental benefits, including reduced packaging waste and a lower overall carbon footprint per product.
One of the key advantages of removing printed carton sleeves, is the substantial reduction in packaging materials. Cardboard sleeves require resources including raw materials, energy, and water to produce and recycle. By shifting to a more efficient packaging solution, Quorn is decreasing its usage of excess carton board where possible, leading to a reduction in material wastage at the consumer end and an overall reduced carbon footprint.This streamlined and minimalistic approach reduces packaging weight by approximately 20% per SKU, and in combination with a redesigned Escalope tray (further lowering plastic usage) the initiative has resulted in an estimated annual saving of 87,000kg CO2 (based on 2024 figures). This is equivalent to eliminating approximately 424,000 road miles in carbon emissions!
By eliminating the need for carton sleeves on these SKUs, Quorn has reduced the use of the energy-intensive paper production process. Additionally, the transportation of lighter and more compact printed film packaging (already unprinted on current trays) contributes to fuel savings, thus reducing carbon emissions linked to supply chain logistics.
This optimisation allows Quorn to use fewer raw materials, while maintaining essential branding and consumer information, demonstrating a balance between sustainability and practicality. Carton sleeves serve minimal functional purpose in protecting the product itself, unlike the primary packaging, which ensures product safety and shelf life.
Ensuring alignment with brand identity and consumer presentation is critical when implementing packaging changes at a retail level. Quorn has collaborated closely with its suppliers to refine a robust, surface-printing technique that maintains ink integrity in seal areas especially, where there is high intensity from temperature and pressure of moving parts.
While a reverse-printing method would have offered an alternative means of protection for the ink finish, it requires additional processing steps, such as printing on the inner side of transparent film, necessitating additional polymer layers and lamination (application of adhesives and bonding).
Surface printed film, as adopted in Quorn’s new packaging approach, is significantly less energy intensive to manufacture. By eliminating these extra steps, Quorn reduces energy consumption and material use by allowing for a thinner 25-micron PET film instead of the 40-micron film typically used for Quorn products using a reverse-printed process. This approach not only offers sustainability benefits but also enables the application of a registered matt finish, enhancing packaging aesthetics without requiring additional treatments. This innovation demonstrates Quorn’s commitment to achieving sustainability goals without compromising on product performance or consumer presentation.
By actively reducing unnecessary packaging, Quorn aligns with the growing consumer preference for responsible packaging consumption. As a brand with sustainability embedded in its ethos, Quorn reinforces its commitment to eco-friendly practices by implementing impactful and sustainable packaging changes, demonstrating that reductions in environmental impact are achievable through strategic packaging design choices and materials efficiency.
As many retail food companies adopt similar sustainable packaging solutions, this could lead to a significant reduction in packaging waste across the FMCG sector and beyond, along with a change in consumer behaviour and perception. As businesses continue to innovate in an effort to minimise their environmental footprint, strategies like Quorn’s packaging transformation will play a critical role in shaping a more sustainable future. By prioritising material reduction and downgauging, optimising energy use, and promoting efficiency, Quorn is striving for a more responsible and sustainable approach to food packaging.
Through forward-thinking initiatives like this, the food industry, and beyond, can take small but meaningful steps towards our shared environmental responsibility - one packaging innovation at a time!
For more information, please visit www.quorn.co.uk
[1] Nielsen IQ retail Measurement 52 w/e 22/02/2025