Mondelēz International has wiped out roughly 2,200 tons of virgin plastic annually by swapping rigid trays for FSC-certified paper across its entire European cookies lineup, a move the company calls its biggest packaging sustainability shift ever in the bakery category.
The change, announced September 4, 2026, touches more than 115 cookie products under eight brands: LU, Milka, Granola, Cadbury, Marabou, Chips Ahoy!, Lacta, and Freia. Those products reach shoppers in over 25 European markets, including the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Poland, Spain, and the Nordics.
In the UK specifically, Cadbury Crunchy Melts, Cadbury Chocolate Chip Cookie, and LU Petit Cookie products now carry the new paper trays. The company says the switch eliminates about 80 percent of the plastic used in the previous packaging format, which combined an outer wrap with a PET tray.
The rollout covers roughly 28,000 tons of cookies produced each year. Mondelēz framed the effort as a direct response to consumer demand for packaging that recycles easily without forcing shoppers to give up familiar brands. Each product displays the plastic reduction on pack, making the change visible at the point of sale.
The company has already experimented with paper packaging across several UK lines. A 2025 trial put Cadbury Heroes in paper tubs, and Cadbury Animals along with Mini Fingers Biscuits Multipacks moved to paper outer packaging. Those earlier tests helped pave the way for the broader cookies transition, according to the company.
The initiative also advances Mondelēz toward its stated goal of cutting virgin rigid plastic use 25 percent globally by 2030, measured against a 2020 baseline. Before this change, the company had incorporated roughly 80 percent recycled PET into trays for brands like Milka, Oreo, Cadbury, and Chips Ahoy!. It also used advanced recycling technology for Cadbury Dairy Milk flexible packaging made with 80 percent certified recycled plastic.
Olivier Kintzig, Biscuits Packaging Director for Europe, said the project required rethinking tray design and logistics across 115 products, eight brands, and 25 markets within months. Joanna Dias, UK and Ireland Sustainability Lead, pointed to recent packaging innovations for Cadbury Heroes, Mini Eggs, and Dairy Milk as steps along the same path. The paper tray rollout now extends that momentum across the cookies range.
