Mars' Kind Snacks brand, purveyor of nourishing snacks, has introduced its first curbside recyclable paper wrapper pilot in the U.S. This innovation marks a significant step in achieving a recycle-ready wrapper for the bars category, while the brand continues to make progress towards its goal of ensuring all packaging is designed for recyclability by 2030, it says. Made with pulpable paper, Kind's pilot will be leveraging a curbside recyclable, How2Recycle pre-qualified paper type. The packaging material will help make it possible for consumers to recycle.

The Kind paper wrapper will be available exclusively at select Whole Foods Market stores across Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Texas, southern California, and select stores in Louisiana, Arizona, and Nevada starting May 1 through October 1, while supplies last, for Kind's best-selling Dark Chocolate Nuts & Sea Salt single bars.

"Our collaboration with KIND represents a true paradigm shift in sustainable packaging," says Whole Foods Market Principal Packaging Advisor Sandra Lewis. "Through their innovative development of this recyclable paper wrapper, they're fundamentally reimagining how snack foods can be packaged. Working together to bring this solution to our shelves represents a significant milestone in our mission to reduce single-use plastics.”

This innovation builds upon Kind's first pilot of a paper-based wrapper in 2023, which was an eCommerce trial available exclusively on kindsnacks.com. This initial pilot was instrumental to Kind's progress and gave the brand a robust foundation of consumer feedback and performance insights, like strong preliminary shelf life, transit, and machinability data. After spending the last year in R&D to integrate learnings, Kind and its partners are excited to bring to market this improved, fully recyclable wrapper available in-stores, they say.

“At Kind, we’re constantly listening to our consumers, and what we hear is clear—they want products that not only deliver exceptional quality but also align with their values,” says Osher Hoberman, CMO of Kind North America. “This new paper wrapper pilot is a direct result of that feedback. We’re proud to continue to lead the industry with bold, forward-thinking and innovative solutions, not just for our packaging, but across our entire product portfolio.”

Kind's technical packaging partner, Printpack, was instrumental in developing this latest version, which is a How2Recycle pre-qualified curbside recyclable wrapper. “Developing a recyclable paper wrapper in less than two years demonstrates remarkable progress in sustainable packaging innovation," says Printpack Chief Strategy Officer David Love. "This breakthrough sets a new standard for sustainable solutions in the food packaging industry and shows what's possible when companies prioritize environmental stewardship."