The English Provender Company, which produces half a million jars a week at its 135,000sq ft factory in Newbury, Berks, has redesigned its iconic square glass jars to achieve a reduction in materials.
The new jars, used to pack sauces, condiments and Very Lazy ingredients, weigh 12g less than the old format and use 7% less glass.
Says English Provender Company Brand Manager Rachel Chang: "Last year,
2.48million jars passed along our production lines, so this amounts to a substantial saving of materials. Environmental issues are increasingly important for both our trade customers and our consumers and we are pleased to be working towards a greener environment with this glass reduction."
The lighter weight jars will also sport a subtle new look. Instead of the initials EPC stamped on the sides, the name English Provender is written out in full, giving customers better brand recognition.
The jars are manufactured by Rotherham-based Beatson Clark, which specialises in the food, drink and pharmaceutical markets and has been working with English Provender for 13 years. Marketing manager Dawn Pugh said: "Not only is glass, because of its recyclable credentials, the preferred choice for consumers, but lightweighting reduces the use of both raw materials and transport costs to protect the environment and conserve valuable resources."
English Provender is now planning to lightweight further jars. Adds Chang: "We have started with our 200g size jars and we are looking to lightweight the larger 300g size in the coming year. We are also expanding into other pack formats which reduce weight, such as individual sachets of salad dressing in our Singles range and top down squeezy (TDS) rigid polymer plastic bottles."