CSR
BRAND In 2021 we have seen a huge focus from our brands on sustainability. Princes’ tuna TV campaign focussed on plastic removal and also launched the first of a range of plant based ready meals alongside a new range of plastic free fruit snack pots. To add to our plant-based collection we have also launched a new brand concentrating solely on plant-based foods including ready meals and snack pots, Plot9. Napolina not only took all of their pasta into cardboard packaging but moved oils into 100% recycled PET bottles, while our Jucee squash range rebranded and also moved into bottles with 100% recycled content, playing a part in the move to a more circular economy.
To provide transparency about where our products come from and how we’re working with suppliers to address modern slavery risks, we’ve published details of all our direct finished goods, raw material and packaging suppliers. As well as showing the location by product category, it shows the total number of workers and the gender split.
INNOVATION We have a leading position on Italian tomatoes and have taken huge steps in transforming our supply chain and tackling human rights issues in Italian agriculture. We are engaged in Fishery Improvement Projects (FIPs) to drive global tuna fishery improvement and to attain MSC certification. We have a leading position on recycled PET in our drinks and oils and the average recycled content of the plastic in our products is 45%. We have also moved our Princes Tuna multipacks and Napolina pasta from plastics to card wrap.
Princes is investing £5 million into our strategic initiative ‘Innov8 by Princes’ to encourage faster development of new products and embedding consumers views into the innovation process. We have partnered with KICR Innovation Ltd, a joint venture between London based award-winning Food Innovation Solutions Ltd and MMR, a global Market Research agency and are already seeing results with a range of new products reaching shelves in 2021.