Costa revamps packaging to push health and sustainability
Costa has become one of the first food brands to implement the Government’s voluntary nutritional labelling scheme as part of wide-ranging revamp of its products to showcase its sustainability credentials.
The front of pack “traffic light” labelling scheme is the main difference between the old and new designs, which are being rolled out across the UK this month.
Costa claims it is the first coffee retailer to use the “traffic light” labels following its unveiling as a voluntary front of pack nutritional label initiative for the food industry earlier this year (19 June). Retailers such as Asda have already started using the scheme on some of their own branded products. Food manufacturers including Mars, PepsiCo and Premier Foods are due to the implement the universal system across their ranges from next year.
The coffee retailer’s packaging refresh is also the first time the “Costa Foundation” logo will appear on packs with the retailer looking to highlight the CSR efforts it provides for its coffee farmers. It hopes to inform consumers about the “positive impact” their purchases have among coffee-growing communities around the world.
The move is part of parent-company Whitbread’s wider corporate responsibility “Good Together” strategy and has been designed to use fewer resources. The business expects the revamp to help it achieve zero waste to landfill operations by 2017.
Kevin Hydes, UK Retail Marketing Director, says: “The redesign of our packaging has provided us with an opportunity to work towards achieving our ‘Good Together’ targets, focused on customer wellbeing, the environment, team and community.
It comes a week after Whitbread revealed the hot summer weather had cooled Costa’s quarterly sales. Like-for-like sales grew 3 per cent in the three months to 15 August, compared with an 8 per cent lift in the previous quarter.
