Sainsbury’s To Introduce Own-Brand, Plant-Based Tea Bags In June 2021
Following Portuguese princess Catherine’s introduction of tea to England in 1660 AD, Brits started loving this refreshing, stimulating, calming and healthy beverage. Eventually tea became the national beverage in England. Anyway, modern day tea drinkers are paying more attention on different tea types, sustainability and health before sipping their favorite cuppa. By the way, as European Supermarket Magazine had reported, UK retailer Sainsbury’s has announced plans to introduce a plant-based material for its own-brand tea bags from June 2021 onwards.
The tea bags are made with Polylactic acid (PLA), a renewable plant-based material that is industrially compostable, unlike the current oil-based plastic tea bags.
PLA is made from the sugar found in cornstarch, cassava, or sugarcane.
Sainsbury’s is testing the new plant-based alternative in its own-brand tea bags.
Director of product, packaging and innovation at Sainsbury’s, Claire Hughes, mentioned, “This extensive rollout of our new tea bags is another example of how we are looking to implement new innovative products that will reduce the impact our business has on the environment.
“Our move towards plant-based tea bags has required significant time and multiple trials to ensure that our customers receive the same great quality tea bag and we look forward to the rollout in stores this year.”
The retailer’s current own-brand tea bags are made of 75% natural fibres and 25% oil-based plastic sealing material (polypropylene).
This sealing material ensures that the tea bag remains intact and the tea leaves don’t seep into the cup.
Plant-Based Material
The supermarket chain intends to introduce the new plant-based material in more than 815 million tea bags a year.
It will also remove the outer plastic wrapping from 11 products to eliminate over 5.3 million pieces of plastic a year.
The tea bags can be disposed of in kerbside food or garden waste bins and general household waste bins.
View More Latest Tea News + Articles: http://www.teawithnipun.com/
References
- Main Source: https://www.esmmagazine.com/coronavirus/sainsburys-roll-brand-plant-based-tea-bags-june-118671
- Company Website: https://www.sainsburys.co.uk/
