You might have spotted a change to some of our Yorkshire Tea boxes. We’ve started removing the plastic overwrap – and some of those new packs will be landing on shelves in May 2024.

We’ve been working on it for a while, as it’s a bit trickier than we first thought. That thin piece of material does lots of important stuff, like keeping the box secure, slowing down, and reducing moisture ingress which can make the tea taste funny.

So, we’ve been testing and researching (with the help of some of the companies we work with) to make sure we get it right. The last thing we’d want to do is affect the taste of your brew, give it a shorter shelf life or make boxes that aren’t fit for purpose.

But we reckon we’ve cracked it. The new boxes have an added inner lid, have fewer gaps, and still have a bit that works as a tamper seal (so you know nobody’s messed with them on the shelf). We’ve also got rid of the plastic bundle wrap that the boxes travel to the shops in, and because they don’t have all the plastic overwrap, they’re easily recyclable at home.

Plus, of course, the tea bags inside are plant-based too.

It’ll seem like a small change in the grand scheme of things, but it’s actually been a massive change to our factory in Harrogate, so we’re rolling it out bit by bit to make sure it’s right (which is how we tackled the switch to plant-based tea bags too).

The first phase of products will be Yorkshire Gold 80s, Yorkshire Tea Decaf 80s, Yorkshire Tea for Hard Water 80s and price-marked packs of Yorkshire Tea 80s (those are the ones with a yellow bit in the corner saying what the price is). They’ll be landing in shops in May 2024. And as we roll out the changes to the rest of our products, we’ll keep you posted on our progress!

Removing the plastic overwrap fits in with our commitment to the WRAP UK Plastics Pact. We’re aiming to eliminate single-use virgin oil-based plastics where they’re not necessary by the end of 2025, with all remaining plastic to be reusable or recyclable, and to keep reducing the impact we have on the planet.

Click here the link to read more about our Net Zero target.