Delicious things come in small, compostable packages

Last updated 30/03/2023: Chocolate Lovers, you know we’re always working on creating exciting new flavours, but did you know that we’re also working on crafting sustainable packaging?

We’ve set ourselves a goal of 100% sustainable packaging by 2025, and we're making great progress against that goal, with 82.51% of our packaging already recyclable. For the remaining packaging, we're exploring other options, like compostable wrappers.

What we’ve done so far

We’ve been busy researching and testing different compostable materials over the last few years – and getting you to help us along the way!

2021: Trialling a new wrapper for our iconic Peanut Slab

In early 2021, we ran a small trial with Chocolate Lovers in our home town of Porirua, New Zealand. First, we produced compostable wrappers for our iconic Peanut Slab. We partnered with local company, For The Better Good (FTBG), to make sure our wrappers had the best chance of being composted. If you’re not familiar with FTBG, they produce compostable water bottles made from plants and know exactly how materials can be taken from the earth, and returned to it, in a way that’s good for the environment and eco-conscious consumers like you. 

During the Peanut Slab trial, we worked with FTBG and their not-for-profit Edible Earth so customers could return their Peanut Slab wrappers to FTBG bottle collection points to be composted locally in the Edible Earth compost hub and urban farm. 

2022: Luxury and sustainability meet with Cocoa Pods

Following our Peanut Slab Trial, we introduced a compostable material to wrap our most luxurious treat yet – Whittaker’s Cocoa Pods®. 

We partnered again with FTBG and Edible Earth to make sure these wrappers could be turned into quality compost. Over the last few months, our Edible Earth experts in Porirua added our Cocoa Pods wrappers to their compost bins alongside food waste diverted from the landfill, sawdust, and Whittaker’s cocoa husks. They regularly monitored and tested how the wrappers broke down in compost and the results were amazing!

After just 4 months, Edible Earth reported back that our wrappers "have broken down brilliantly” within the trial timeframe, explaining “there is hardly any trace at all of the wrappers. With only tiny pieces scattered throughout, which will break down easily with more time in the soil."

We were thrilled to hear our Cocoa Pods wrappers were “some of the best Edible Earth has ever seen”.

The final compost had a perfect texture and consistency: light and crumbly, but still moist and very dark. The Edible Earth team have already used the resulting rich compost on their garden beds with new seedlings.

Want to try composting our Cocoa Pods wrappers yourself? Great! Cocoa Pods wrappers are small and light so they will break down easily in a home compost bin, given enough time. And if you don’t have a compost bin to call your own, our friends at FTBG have collection boxes you can use. Here’s where you can find them.

What about the rest of the Cocoa Pods packaging?

Whittaker’s Cocoa Pods® have three different types of packaging to dispose of: