- Nestle’s Hot Pockets brand has recently retired its microwave crisping sleeve, in a move to reduce waste and meet its sustainability goals.
- To celebrate, the brand has created a new ugly holiday sweater. The design of the sweater is inspired by the old packaging – it comes with detachable zip-off sleeves and transforms into a vest.
- The new sweaters are available for $40 at the Hot Pockets Merch Store, with sweaters dropping Oct. 15, Oct. 29, Nov. 19 and Dec. 3.
McDonald’s, Popeyes, Red Lobster and Pillsbury’s are just some of the brands that have released branded holiday sweaters to get attention around the holidays and Nestle’s Hot Pockets is following the same playbook with this new release.
In addition to selling merchandise around the holidays, the promotion also gives the brand a fun and playful way to publicize their sustainability push and raise awareness around the fact that the company is getting rid of excess packaging. Consumers, particularly younger generations, are choosing brands that offer more sustainable products. The company said the decision to drop the cooking sleeves will save five million pounds of paper waste a year, which is appealing to these shoppers looking to purchase items that support their values.
While the package has been around for some time, the company claims it will not impact the taste or texture of the product. Lauren Kelly, brand marketing manager at Hot Pockets, said in a statement that the packaging design has been streamlined so that the product will retain its crispiness.
