Shoppers 'vow to stop buying popular snack' after 'tragic' change

Daily Mirror

5 days ago

Shoppers have hit out at the 'tragic' change made to an iconic British snack and vowed to find an alternative, despite the move being better for the environment
Shoppers have lamented a "British tragedy" after an iconic snack underwent a major change to its packaging this week. Pot Noodle, which first hit supermarket shelves in the UK in 1977, is a brand of instant noodles that comes in variety of flavours including Chicken & Mushroom, Chinese Chow Mein and Bombay Bad Boy.
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Originally launched by Golden Wonder and now owned by Unilever, the quick meal typically comes in a recognisable plastic container, but is now undergoing a cosmetic change for the good of the planet. However, it appears the change hasn't gone down well among some fans, who took to social media to vent their frustrations.
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"It's literally a British tragedy," TikTok user Honest Thoughts declared in a video, brandishing a Chicken & Mushroom flavoured Pot as an example.
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"Pot Noodles are now made of carboard, so if you have any plastic ones, keep the pots so that you can reuse because these [new] ones are absolute s***," she said.
It followed her previous clip on the social media platform in which she described the cardboard as "soggy af" once boiling water had been added to the noodles. "First our straws, now our Pot Noodles," she cursed.
Writing in response, meanwhile, another TikTok user agreed with the sentiment. "Just don't buy them anymore. I'm not. Try a different brand or even stores own brand.
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A second agreed: "Or vote with your wallet and buy another brand."
A third added: "I've got a few plastic pots that I've used for other things, but now the pot noodle will be filling them instead of cardboard nonsense."
WARNING – explicit language in video below. Viewer discretion is advised.
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Meanwhile a fourth TikTok user said: "I had a cardboard one and it was crap - it doesn't retain heat like the plastic ones so my pot noodle didn't take the amount of time it's supposed to. It took ages. I could have made a meal in the time it took for the noodles to get soft."
Others defended the move, however, including one person who questioned: "Tragedy? Guess we have different ideas of what a tragedy is. Heaven forbid people care about the planet."
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And another individual agreed: "Am I the only one that's happy companies are moving away from single use plastics?"
Pot Noodle's owners said of the change in a statement online: "Innovating with alternative materials – like paper – is a key part of Unilever's sustainable packaging strategy and will play an important role in reducing our use of virgin plastic, alongside increasing our use of recycled content, moving to ultra-concentrated formulas which use smaller bottles, and other packaging innovations such as refillable bottles.
"Following a full product life cycle assessment (LCA), we know that by moving from plastic to paper pots, as well as a significant virgin plastic reduction, reduces the Co2 footprint of the total lifecycle of each pot by 14% which is 3,700 tonnes carbon dioxide equivalents (tCO2-eq.) per year."
The company added: "Switching over 98 million pots to paper and saving 1,870 tonnes of plastic every year as is a big step in reducing virgin plastic whilst helping shoppers to make a more sustainable everyday choice.
"The pots are made from 90% paper as a single layer of ultra-thin plastic film is used to provide barrier protection inside the pot, which ensures ingredients remain fresh – helping to extend the shelf life of Pot Noodle's and reduce food waste – whilst also protecting the structure of the pot when water is added, without inhibiting the recyclability of the pot."