Major change revealed for iconic festive sweets as Christmas countdown gets underway

With just over ten weeks remaining until Christmas, fans of the iconic Quality Street sweets are being advised of a major change.

Packaging company Smurfit Westrock and Nestlé have launched an innovative paper-based tub - the first of its kind to hit supermarket shelves.

Confirming the news, Nestlé says it approached the packaging leader to create the trial pack as part of its ongoing initiative to reduce its use of virgin plastic. The redesign also enables more boxes to fit on a pallet and has the potential to reduce CO2 emissions significantly.

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The introduction of the paper-based tub follows on from Nestlé switching to paper wrappers for individual Quality Street sweets back in 2022, which diverted over 2 billion wrappers from landfill. Now, both the box itself and the wrappers can be put into household recycling at the end of use. 

The new paper-based tubs are currently only available in selected Tesco stores across England and Wales and it's not known when they will distributed to stores in Ireland.

Commenting following the announcement, Saverio Mayer, CEO of Europe, MEA & APAC at Smurfit Westrock, said: “The innovative new tub we created in collaboration with Nestlé is an excellent example of how a paper-based replacement can bring a host of benefits across design, functionality and of course sustainability. We knew that this iconic brand needed a stand-out solution that would look the part on shelf as well as seamlessly integrate into consumers’ household recycling. It will hopefully appeal to the growing number of consumers who are seeking out more sustainable packaging for their favourite products.”

Jemma Handley, Senior Brand Manager for Quality Street, added: “We’re looking forward to seeing what Quality Street fans make of the paper tub. A lot of care and hard work has gone into the trial and we’re proud to be the first major manufacturer to trial a paper tub at Christmas. The beautiful design has been devised specifically for a paper product and we love how it looks, and of course, shoppers can expect the same great tasting Quality Street sweets that they know and love inside.”

The new paper tubs, which retain the signature hexagonal shape and purple colour, will be sold alongside the traditional plastic version in stores where they are available. Nestle says both products are the same size and contain the same weight of chocolates.