SHOPPERS are only just realising that Nestle made a divisive change to Quality Street chocolates.
While the company introduced the environmentally friendly packaging last year, some people are only noticing it now that Christmas tubs have started hitting the shelves.
Nestle decided to swap their see-through and foil wrappers with a recyclable alternative – waxed paper.
When confirming their decision, the company said it hoped this would prevent two billion wrappers a year from being thrown into landfill.
Quality Street made a Facebook post celebrating the change after it was announced – but not everyone was impressed.
The post read: “We’re celebrating a positive change this Recycle Week, now your favourites are wrapped in recyclable paper.
“What colourful crafts and quality creations will you be making next with your wrappers? Recycle Now.”
Quality Street fans were quick to take to the comments with their opinions on the new wrappers, one said: “Don’t like the new wrappers, afraid they just get binned, before I could use them for crafting.”
And some chocolate lovers who didn’t notice the change at first have been complaining about the new packaging on social media in recent weeks.
One wrote on X: “Have to say, I think it was a weird decision to introduce the new wax wrappers (which are horrible) and then continue to release so many plastic tubs!
“I’d rather pay a pound or more extra and get a tin, which at least will be used for years to come and looks Christmassy!”
Quality Street replied confirming that all of its tins, tubs and cartons are recyclable, and added that the decision to swap the wrapping was part of the company’s goal to make all of its packaging recyclable by 2025.
The company said: “All our Quality Street tins, tubs and cartons are recyclable.
“Our pouch bags and plastic seals are also recyclable through Instore drop off points.
“Additionally, all our sweets are now wrapped in recyclable paper or foil.
“Our paper wrappers can be placed in your household recycling!
“This move is part of our wider commitment to make all of Nestle’s packaging recyclable or reusable in 2025.”
Another customer also shared their disappointment at the new packaging saying: “Please bring back the shiny, compostable wrapping- just bought a new box of Quality Street and they look so unappetising and dull – not really festive at all.”
Quality Street replied: “Sorry you feel this way. Unfortunately, the previous wrappers we used for our Quality Street were not recyclable.
“We do hope making our packaging recyclable makes up for the disappointment. The sweets are as delicious as ever!”
Previously, some fans saw the funny side of the new packaging, with one joking: “You’re all missing the real benefit of it making them quieter to open… A blessing to sneaky snafflers.”
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Go own brand – if you’re not too fussed on flavour and just want to supplant your chocolate cravings, you’ll save by going for supermarket’s own brand bars.
Shop around – if you’ve spotted your favourite variety at the supermarket, make sure you check if it’s cheaper elsewhere.
Websites like Trolley.co.uk let you compare prices on products across all the major chains to see if you’re getting the best deal.
Look out for yellow stickers – supermarket staff put yellow, and sometimes orange and red, stickers on to products to show they’ve been reduced.
They usually do this if the product is coming to the end of its best before date or the packaging is slightly damaged.
Buy bigger bars – most of the time, but not always, chocolate is cheaper per 100g the larger the bar.
So if you’ve got the appetite, and you were going to buy a hefty amount of chocolate anyway, you might as well go bigger.
Around 1.7billiion Quality Street “jewels” are gobbled up in Britain every year – which equals a whopping average of 63 per household.
While the classic treats can still be found with their iconic colours, the new vegetable-based wax has taken away their famous sheen.
Nestle said that, unlike cellulose, the new wrappers break down easily and are accepted in household recycling.
Cheryl Allen, the head of sustainability at Nestle, said: “Quality Street is a brand that people feel very strongly about.
“We know that opening the lid and seeing ‘the jewels’, as we call them, is really important.
“We think we’ve done a really good job with the redesign, and feel confident that people will respond positively.”
Alongside switching up Quality Streets, the brand also recently announced KitKat would get brand new packaging made of 80% recycled plastic.
On its website, the company says: “Packaging helps protect food and beverages, ensure product quality and safety, communicate nutritional information and prevent food waste.
“However, these essential requirements should not come at the expense of the planet.
“That’s why we are continually developing more sustainable packaging and committed to reducing waste from packaging.”
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