General Mills : Nature Valley leads the way to a more recyclable future

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Feb 16, 2021 • By Hanna Johnson

The brand with nature in its name is making big moves toward a more sustainable future.

Nature Valley has launched the first-ever How2Recycleapproved Store Drop-Off recyclable snack bar wrapper, an innovationthat has been three years in the making.

'This is the first time we have a solution for our wrapper. And we think this is the right thing to do,' says Ashley Soukup, senior associate brand manager, Nature Valley. 'By choosing not to patent the wrapper and calling upon others in the industry to move to these types of materials, we hope that this advancement will not just change how General Mills operates, but how the industry operates so we can truly use our scale for good.'

Soukup shares five things you need to know about Nature Valley's new wrapper in this video.

Ashley Soukup, senior associate brand manager for Nature Valley shares the 5 things you need to know about the brand's new recyclable wrapper.

To recycle the wrapper, all you need to do is to bring it to a Store Drop-Off bin - a system already in place at major retail stores that collectscertainplastic bags, films and other eligible plastic films that can't be recycled in curbside recycling bins.

Once recycled, the material can be turned into playground sets, deckingmaterial, fencing, and furniture - all things that can help get people outside more often.

General Mills R&D scientists conducted dozens of tests to ensure the wrapper would pass the strict recyclability test while maintainingthe product's flavor and texture, not an easy feat, especially during a pandemic.

'We were challenged in every aspect,' says George Tuszkiewicz, senior R&D engineer. 'Getting materials when we needed them and pivoting tovirtual-based trials were big hurdles we had to overcome.'

Despite the challenges, the team had the persistence to keep iteratingand to keep moving forward.

'I have never seen so many layers of people within an organization so excited to bring their best to work like this,' says Soukup. 'Seeing the power of having a common cause that people really believe in and seeing everyone put their heart into the work has blown me away.'

The new wrapper is rolling out on Nature Valley's Crunchy bar line [in the U.S.] and will extend to the rest of the portfolio by 2025.

For more information, visit NatureValley.com/recycle4nature.

Hanna Johnson is a corporate communications associate at General Mills, based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She manages 'A Taste of General Mills,' and helps represent the company on various social media sites, and contributes to the company intranet and website. She began her career at General Mills in 2019. More posts by this author