Glass: Our Most-Used Material

Our most-used packaging material is glass, which we use for all our jars. We like it because it is made from a natural material and you can reuse and recycle it again and again without losing out on quality. But glass can be quite heavy, which gives it a higher carbon footprint in transport, and sometimes it breaks. Still, it’s been a great material for our needs and we plan to continue making sure we use it responsibly.

Progress on Plastic

Next up is plastic, used primarily in our squeeze bottles and caps. While it does make up a smaller proportion of our material footprint, plastic also poses different challenges. Not only is it derived from petroleum, but it also requires significant amounts of greenhouse gases to produce and can harm ocean ecosystems. That’s why we are making the switch from virgin plastic to increasing proportions of post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic, as well as supporting responsible recycling to prevent plastic from finding its way into our oceans. We’re aiming to use only 100% recyclable and 100% recycled material for all of our rigid plastics by 2022.

Progress on Paper

When we talk about paper, we mean the fiber that is primarily used for the boxes and packaging that we use to ship our products. Our goal was to use 100% recycled material in our fiber materials by the end of 2020. In order to reach this goal, we need to partner with our co-manufacturers that source these materials. We missed this goal in 2020, and just need to work a little more closely with our partners to verify they're sourcing 100% recycled fiber. We're on it!

Designing a better bottle

As of January 2021, our plastic squeeze bottles include increasing proportions of post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic. For example, a spiffed-up version of our Ranch Dressing bottle launched last year, which accounts for about 1/4 of all bottles, is made from 50% PCR and features a special cap and valve designed to “swim” in the recycling stream (so that the whole bottle can be recycled in the same bin).

For our latest plastic bottle redesign, we were able to reduce materials by 3.5%, resulting in two tons of plastic savings.

Get to know our new bottle

From Prototype to Finished Bottle

As of 2020, our plastic squeeze bottles include increasing proportions of post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic. For example, a spiffed-up version of our Ranch Dressing bottle launching later this year, which will account for about 1/4 of all bottles, is made from 50% PCR and features a special cap and valve designed to “swim” in the recycling stream (so that the whole bottle can be recycled in the same bin). “We worked many hours across many teams on a design that connects to our brand DNA, delights our customers and protects our wonderful-tasting products,” said Jake, our packaging designer. “Environmental impact was considered at each stage of the design process, informing every decision we made.”

Those Pesky Packets

Our single-serve packets, or "sachets" in industry-speak, remain one of our most challenging packaging forms from a sustainability lens. These multi-layered pockets for condiments are not recyclable, and there is currently no recyclable solution on the market. Sachets provide a valuable convenience to many of our eaters, when all you may need is a squirt of mustard. But we're not proud of the end life they're fated for. Believe us, it's a problem that keeps us up at night. So our team continues to look for solutions to this pesky issue, starting with reducing the impact of their input materials, like recycled or biobased materials, and constantly researching new innovations in biodegradable and recyclable solutions. We promise, we'll keep our eye on this prize.

How to Recycle

As proud as we are of our recyclable plastic progress, it’ll only really make a difference if well...it’s recycled. Which makes you the key ingredient in our products. We’ve tried to help demystify recycling by including How2Recycle symbols on most of our packaging. We hope this will help make recycling a bit more simple and straightforward. Kinda like our ingredients.