Eco-friendly packaging

FUTURE PACKAGING: LEADING THE WAY IN SUSTAINABILITY AND CIRCULARITY

Although packaging accounts for only 5% of the Group's carbon footprint, we’re committed to minimizing their impact by embracing an eco-design approach throughout the product lifecycle. It’s all about striking the right balance between the numerous benefits of individual servings and sustainable packaging management.

RETHINKING PACKAGING FOR A CIRCULAR ECONOMY

Committed to eco-design for several years, the Bel Group integrates its packaging into a circular approach, from creation to end-of-life. As a member of the Consumer Goods Forum’s Plastic Waste Coalition since 2020, we apply the 10 golden design rules to limit over-packaging, reduce empty space, and improve recyclability. Powered by our 5R strategy—Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Reinvent—we are committed to eliminating all unnecessary packaging, drastically reducing packaging use, restoring natural resources, and ensuring everything possible is recycled. This is reflected in concrete actions, such as the new lightweight cap on our Gogo squeeZ® pouches, reducing plastic use by 40%, and the development of reusable or bulk alternatives to minimize reliance on single-use packaging.

SUSTAINABLE MATERIALS FOR A RESPONSIBLE FUTURE

To drastically reduce our plastic and aluminum consumption, we are championing alternatives that don't compete with food sources, such as paper from renewable and FSC-certified forests.This approach helps lower our carbon footprint and protects natural resources.

For us, this means:

  • ensuring no deforestation by using paper and cardboard made from recycled fibers or certified virgin fibers from sustainably managed forests;
  • ensuring our aluminum purchases are ASI (Aluminium Stewardship Initiative) certified, and then adopting low-carbon aluminum by 2030;
  • incorporating 25% recycled plastic by 2030 (across Bel's total average portfolio) to limit the extraction of fossil fuels required for virgin plastic production.

BABYBEL® PAPER PACKAGING : AN INDUSTRIAL TRANSFORMATION ANCHORED IN SUSTAINABLE GROWTH

Aligned with our mission to provide healthier and more sustainable food for all, we place the reduction of environmental footprint at the core of our strategy: from ingredient sourcing and logistics to industrial processes and packaging.

Our iconic global brand, Babybel®, plays a central role in this transformation. By 2027, 100% of Babybel® products—manufactured in five plants and distributed across 50 countries—will use certified sourced paper packaging. This marks a significant milestone towards our ambition of delivering 100% recycling-ready packaging by 2030.

THE ECO-FRIENDLY PACKAGING OF KIRI® PAPER-WRAPPED PORTION

We are revolutionizing Kiri® packaging by replacing aluminum with recyclable paper. This new packaging, currently in the testing phase to assess consumer acceptance, was designed at our Vendôme center and produced at the Sablé-sur-Sarthe factory on a specially equipped line. After several years of development, we have created packaging that perfectly preserves the taste and nutritional qualities of the product, while ensuring optimal food safety and easy opening, especially suitable for children.

BULK SALE

Alongside Danone, Famille Michaud Apiculteurs, and Lesieur, we have combined our expertise within the DéfiVrac coalition. This unique alliance is developing practical solutions to promote bulk sales while addressing concerns related to hygiene, quality, and ease of use. We aim to make this distribution method more accessible to consumers, with large-scale testing planned before the end of 2025.

This full-scale experiment, co-financed 70% by Citeo, allows us to offer consumers iconic products in a new format, such as The Laughing Cow® (natural, basil, and chorizo flavors) and Materne® (apple desserts with no added sugar) for Bel.

"Our bulk offering provides access to our products in customizable quantities with reusable packaging. A true challenge in our product categories! This success is the result of teamwork and exemplary collaboration with our partners."

Director of Client CSR Engagement of Bel Group

RECYCLE

Our commitment focuses on optimizing the end-of-life of packaging by raising consumer awareness about sorting and recycling through clear communication. We also forge strategic partnerships to develop efficient channels for collecting and recovering packaging waste.

Within this framework, the Group aims for 100% of its packaging to be recyclable and/or compostable at home by 2030. This commitment is already being realized through concrete actions, such as the gradual rollout of recyclable single-material compote pouches for Pom’Potes®.

We are also taking action to enhance the recycling and recovery of packaging waste in the countries where the Group operates. We actively participate in "Extended Producer Responsibility" (EPR) initiatives and are part of coalitions dedicated to improving recycling processes.

The Group is notably a member of CELAA (Club for Light Aluminum and Steel Packaging) in France, AREME (Association for the Recycling of Light Metal Packaging and Objects) in Belgium and Luxembourg, COAALI (Coalition for the Recycling of Light Aluminum and Steel) in Spain, and AIRE ("Alliance for Packaging Innovation and Recycling") in Morocco.

RESEARCH, INNOVATION, DEVELOPMENT

THE VENDÔME GLOBAL RID CENTER AT THE FOREFRONT OF FOOD AND ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSITIONS