4 ms·

Is that the case in all markets? Japan, from all I hear, tends to wrap products in a lot of unnecessary plastic, so I wouldn't be surprised to learn that Japane

Is that the case in all markets? Japan, from all I hear, tends to wrap products in a lot of unnecessary plastic, so I wouldn't be surprised to learn that Japanese KitKats are wrapped with plastic to align with Japanese consumer expectation. Given that the article quotes a specific amount of plastic that Nestle is expecting to save though this substitution, I'm almost certain that their packaging is currently plastic.

xxpor 7y ago
This is my biggest problem with Asian bakeries. Everything's individually wrapped in plastic.
arghwhat 7y ago
It's for some weird reason an Asian thing. Go to a bakery in China or Japan, buy 3 pieces of pastry, and you will walk away with 4 plastic bags. It's especially annoying in Japan, as they also have super strict garbage policies and no possibility to dispose of things in public. That by itself is a great idea, if only they would stop giving me so much unnecessary garbage to carry around.
- nitrogen 7y ago
  Someone previously mentioned on HN that the extra packaging is due to Japan's humidity.
  - dwoozle 7y ago
    Japanese humidity is a bit of nonsense. Places like Florida, India, Singapore, and Brazil all have much higher humidity.
    - nitrogen 7y ago
      Do pastries and candies go stale faster in those areas without the extra packaging, or is there a different motivation for the packaging?
      - dwoozle 7y ago
        The motivation is a Japanese fascination with order, perfection, and presentation... nothing to do with humidity.
  - arghwhat 7y ago
    Hmm, coming from Denmark, I don't find Japan particularly humid, and we certainly don't wrap bread or pastry products. It would also be quite outrageous to make any generalizations about Chinese weather, considering just how big that particular pile of dirt it.
cwkoss 7y ago
Japan has a strong gift culture, many things come wrapped in many layers for the purposes of gifting. I think plastic bags containing individually-wrapped-in-plastic items come from this idea: you can give someone a single item without worrying about contamination from unclean hands. Hi-chews are a good example of this. I remember buying a few items at a department store in Japan and the clerk individually wrapped each item in paper, then wrapped all the items together in paper, then put it all in a paper bag. They extensively use a 'heavy tissue'-like paper to wrap many items. A decorative plate I bought as a gift for my grandfather was wrapped in about 20 sheets of this paper. Great protection, but it did feel a little wasteful.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- blue_devil 7y ago
  The worst part is most of this packaging is really high quality - I've reused paper bags and what not endlessly, it'd take ages for the stuff to fall apart. Mottainai.

xxpor 7y ago

This is my biggest problem with Asian bakeries. Everything's individually wrapped in plastic.

arghwhat 7y ago

It's for some weird reason an Asian thing. Go to a bakery in China or Japan, buy 3 pieces of pastry, and you will walk away with 4 plastic bags. It's especially annoying in Japan, as they also have super strict garbage policies and no possibility to dispose of things in public. That by itself is a great idea, if only they would stop giving me so much unnecessary garbage to carry around.

nitrogen 7y ago
Someone previously mentioned on HN that the extra packaging is due to Japan's humidity.
- dwoozle 7y ago
  Japanese humidity is a bit of nonsense. Places like Florida, India, Singapore, and Brazil all have much higher humidity.
  - nitrogen 7y ago
    Do pastries and candies go stale faster in those areas without the extra packaging, or is there a different motivation for the packaging?
    - dwoozle 7y ago
      The motivation is a Japanese fascination with order, perfection, and presentation... nothing to do with humidity.
- arghwhat 7y ago
  Hmm, coming from Denmark, I don't find Japan particularly humid, and we certainly don't wrap bread or pastry products. It would also be quite outrageous to make any generalizations about Chinese weather, considering just how big that particular pile of dirt it.

cwkoss 7y ago

Japan has a strong gift culture, many things come wrapped in many layers for the purposes of gifting. I think plastic bags containing individually-wrapped-in-plastic items come from this idea: you can give someone a single item without worrying about contamination from unclean hands. Hi-chews are a good example of this. I remember buying a few items at a department store in Japan and the clerk individually wrapped each item in paper, then wrapped all the items together in paper, then put it all in a paper bag. They extensively use a 'heavy tissue'-like paper to wrap many items. A decorative plate I bought as a gift for my grandfather was wrapped in about 20 sheets of this paper. Great protection, but it did feel a little wasteful.

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
blue_devil 7y ago
The worst part is most of this packaging is really high quality - I've reused paper bags and what not endlessly, it'd take ages for the stuff to fall apart. Mottainai.