The individual portion is at the heart of the Bel model and serves our mission: to offer healthier and more responsible food for all. It makes products more accessible, provides the right nutritional amount and helps avoid food waste. It also means that we, at Bel, have a responsibility to implement a committed and innovative packaging management policy at every stage of our products’ life.
When it comes to packaging, our approach is one of eco-design. We favor options that reduce the overall amount of packaging, reduce the number of materials used, and choose to use raw materials that are recyclable, renewable and/or produced close to the manufacturing sites.
Priority is given to paper or cardboard to use renewable resources and facilitate recyclability.
70% of Bel packaging is paper-based
14% plastic, 7% aluminium, 5% bricks*
92% of Bel packaging is already recyclable and/or biodegradable**
*Bel data – excluding MOM
**excluding wax, which is not considered packaging, by regulation.
Concerned about fighting against deforestation, we choose to use either paper and cardboard materials made from recycled fibres, or virgin fibres from sustainably-managed forests.
96% of paper/cardboard packaging contains recycled or fibres whose origin is certified and from responsibly-managed forest.
For other materials, we are working to develop sustainable sources of supply.
For example, since 2017, we have been a member of the Aluminum Stewardship Initiative (ASI), a global non-profit certification organisation which encourages players in the aluminium value chain to work on more responsible management.
A strong commitment that we have made and on which we are making progress every day.
Our Mini Babybel brand illustrates our packaging ambitions through several initiatives. Since the end of 2020, the product has been packaged in bio-sourced cellophane that can be composted at home.
Pom’Potes® pouches will all be produced in polyethylene by 2022, in order for them to be 100% recyclable.
In France, we are going further by exploring the ‘no-packaging’ option: in 2020, we implemented a pilot project to sell Mini Babybel in bulk, without plastic or netting, in several Day by Day outlets.
We believe we have a responsibility to encourage recycling: in addition to communicating sorting instructions to our consumers, we support the development of dedicated streams. For example, the Group is an active member of several coalitions for the development of streams (CELAA in France, AREME in Belgium, and AIRE in Morocco) and also works with the Consumer Good Forum on this topic.
In partnership with TerraCycle, we are creating national Mini Babybel packaging recycling programs in several countries.
In 2021 we answered the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s call to implement extended producer responsibility (EPR) for packaging, alongside 150 leading companies and organizations.
