Pot Noodle Trials Eco-Friendly Paper Pots at Tesco in Effort to Reduce Plastic Waste

Unilever’s Pot Noodle is conducting a trial with Tesco, offering instant noodle soups in paper pots that can be recycled at home. The new design marks the brand’s most significant packaging innovation in its 40-year history, with an initial stock of 500,000 Chicken & Mushroom flavour pots. The brand aims to reduce plastic waste and transition to a paper-based future without compromising the beloved Pot Noodle experience.

The paper pots feature a thin plastic film for ingredient freshness, ensuring it remains recyclable. Shopper feedback from the trial will determine whether the entire Pot Noodle range will switch to paper pots, potentially reducing the UK’s virgin plastic production by 4,000 metric tons annually. The innovative process took over three years, led by Unilever’s R&D teams at the Global Foods Innovation Centre in the Netherlands, collaborating with UK packaging experts. The challenge was to maintain the pot’s distinctive shape and quality while reducing plastic usage.

Andre Burger, Unilever UK & Ireland’s Foods (Nutrition) segment general manager, expressed excitement about the trial’s potential success and future adoption across the UK. “Pot Noodle has been a much-loved British brand for over 40 years, and while our great taste will never change, we’re always challenging ways to make our products and packaging better.” The move aligns with the brand’s commitment to environmental sustainability and signifies a major step towards eco-friendly packaging solutions.