After revealing its intent to wrap all Babybel cheese snacks in paper by 2027 – a move expected to cut 60% of plastic per net and save 2500 tons of CO2 emissions – the Bel Group has elaborated on its repackaging process and future goals.
The Group explains that the food industry at large is starting to limit plastic packaging at its source, improve its recyclability, and transition into renewable materials – decisions influenced by consumer demand and corporate commitments.
“Today, consumption habits are changing,” says Linda Neu, global general manager at Babybel. “We all want to make more responsible choices, reduce our footprint, better understand where the products we love come from.”
Over two billion portions of Babybel are thought to be consumed every year, and Bel describes the product’s “central role” in achieving 100% recycle-ready and/or home-compostable packaging by 2030.
“Developing a paper solution meant re-engineering a full protective system,” explains Delphine Chatelin, vice president Research, Innovation and Development. “Our RID and Packaging teams applied a rigorous ‘test & learn’ approach, combining material formulation, pilot trials, industrial validation, and consumer testing.
“This method allowed us to fine-tune performance at every step: eliminating plastic cellophane, maintaining quality, ensuring reliability in real-life conditions, and validating the experience with consumers.”
Several Babybel factories now seek to adapt their equipment, revisit their processes, and retrain their teams to accommodate the new packaging. In France, the Évron factory – said to produce one out of two Babybel snacks consumed worldwide – is operating a functional paper packaging line following a series of technical tests and the development of industrial parameters.
The Bel Group has also invested €60 million into its Sablé-sur-Sarthe factory, aspiring to increase its capacity tenfold and meet consumer demand. The line is expected to be fully operational by the summer of 2026.
“At Babybel, we believe that being a snacking leader is also a driver of positive change,” Neu continues. “Anticipating, innovating, paving the way for more sustainable snacking without ever losing sight of what makes us special: fun, practicality and accessibility.
“The transition to paper packaging is part of this continuity. It does not change the taste, the use, or the moment of joy that Babybel brings. It simply takes us further in our commitment, to make the brand evolve with the times and with those who love it.”
“This ambition builds on decades of action to reduce our environmental footprint, redesign our formats, and support the transition of our entire product portfolio toward more responsible solutions,” comments Béatrice de Noray, executive vice president in charge of Growth.
“Babybel continues to evolve while remaining true to what makes it iconic: a practical, shareable, unmistakable little portion. By elevating its packaging, we are advancing a key chapter of our journey, where responsibility and performance come together, fully aligned with the DNA of the Bel Group.”
“The Group strives to limit their environmental impact by adopting an eco-design approach throughout the life cycle of its products,” the Group adds. “Our commitment to preserving the planet and reducing our environmental impact is at the heart of our approach.
“First and foremost, it’s our commitment to reducing plastic and eliminating unnecessary waste, contributing to a more sustainable environment. Secondly, by switching from cellophane to paper, we are actively reducing our carbon footprint, thereby decreasing CO2 emissions.”
Not only is paper set to improve the sustainability credentials of the Babybel pack, but it is also set to streamline customizability for limited-edition redesigns. Last year, Babybel celebrated France’s participation in the UEFA European Football Championship with tricolour packaging; and it has since commemorated the latest season of the Netflix series Stranger Things with Mini Babybel wrapped “in the colours of [the show’s] retro and fantastic universe”.
Nevertheless, Babybel has left its red wax shell intact. The Bel Group explains that the wax keeps air, moisture, and contamination away from the cheese, maintaining the safety and freshness of the product – even in transit, with the cheese said to remain stable outside the refrigerator for eight hours under normal use conditions.
Babybel’s transition is the latest in a series of packaging redesigns by the Bel Group. Its Innovation & Development Research Center in Vendôme, France, is currently running pilot lines and technical tests to transition its Kiri product range into paper packaging.
Additionally, The Laughing Cow cheese lineup and the stewed fruit brand Materne are now available in bulk. In collaboration with Danone, Famille Michaud Apiculteurs, Lesieur, and Citeo, the Group is working on a bulk machine for semi-liquid products like spreadable cheeses, compotes, honey, and oil.
The machine uses returnable glass containers and claims to guarantee safety, hygiene, and practicality. It is being tested at three points of sale in Île-de-France, Jura and Normandy until the end of 2025.
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