Mars bars, Snickers, and other chocolate classics will soon come in paper-based packaging

Chocolate manufacturer Mars Wrigley Australia has confirmed it is focusing on transitioning its entire Australian-made chocolate bar portfolio to paper-based packaging, as it starts rolling out its new look and feel for its medium and large Mars, Snickers and Milky Way bars.

The newly packaged bars will be available nationwide at all leading supermarkets and convenience stores and have already begun landing on shelves.

The announcement coincides with Mars Wrigley Australia also revealing it will be investing a further $28.8 million at its Ballarat factory in regional Victoria this year, building on more than $67 million invested since 2021.

The manufacturer has been operating in Ballarat for more than 40 years and employs just under 400 associates in its Ballarat factory. Across Australia, Mars Wrigley employs more than 700 people across its two manufacturing sites Ballarat and Asquith, its Melbourne office and field teams.

Mars Wrigley Australia General Manager Andrew Leakey said the company is committed to bolstering its local manufacturing capabilities to ensure its Ballarat factory remains a global innovation hub. 

“This latest investment will enable us to continue modernising our manufacturing operations through key equipment upgrades, paving the way for further development of sustainable packaging solutions and greater innovation across our filled bar and Bitesize portfolios,” he said.

Over the last 12 months, more than 88 million individual Mars, Snickers and Milky Way bars have been made at the Ballarat factory, with Leakey confirming to SmartCompany that Mars bars are the most popular.

The chocolate maker plans to transition its entire Australian-made chocolate bar portfolio to paper-based packaging, said Leakey, including its ‘fun size’ bars, which will adopt the new packaging over the next 12 to 18 months.

“Rather than a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach, our focus is on finding the right packaging solution for the right product, so we’re exploring a number of materials as we work to redesign our packaging for circularity,” Leakey said.

“One step of many”

Leakey said consumers across the country are increasingly looking for ways to reduce their environmental impact.

“We’re hopeful they will be as excited as we are by this world-first innovation which will allow them to recycle their wrappers in traditional kerbside recycling bins,” he said.

“In total, we’ve invested more than $2.5 million into our paper-based packaging project over the last three years; this includes investment into our machinery and manufacturing technology, as well as the material itself to ensure the new packaging retains product quality and freshness. 

“As one of Australia’s largest manufacturing companies, we know we have a responsibility to reduce our environmental footprint, and this is just one step of many that we are taking to ensure we minimise our impact.”

The new paper-based packaging was developed in partnership with packaging giant Amcor, which Mars Wrigley Australia worked with closely over the last three years to find the most suitable material.

Leakey said the chocolate manufacturer has also invested significantly to ensure its machinery and equipment could safely process the new paper-based packaging, while still maintaining its high standards for product quality and freshness. 

“This is a world-first for Mars Wrigley, so we had no blueprint to work from. We’ve now gone through more than three years of development on this project and are working closely with other markets to share our findings and learnings,” he said.

“Our focus will be on continuing to drive our local research and development across our product lines and packaging, and modernising our manufacturing capabilities. 

“We’ve been focusing on consumer-led product innovation across our Bitesize portfolio which has seen world-first product developments such as Maltesers Gold launched this year. We’re redesigning our packaging across our entire portfolio for circularity, driving world-first research and innovation from our hub in Ballarat.”