Kroger has added two Simple Truth private-label breads made with upcycled ingredients. This announcement coincides with a recent milestone: the grocer recycled one million pieces of private-label flexible plastic packaging.
"We are continually looking for creative and innovative solutions to support our vision of creating zero-waste communities," said Juan De Paoli, VP of Our Brands for Kroger, in a statement. "Our customers sharing in that commitment by recycling packaging and purchasing products made with upcycled ingredients, alongside our efforts to advance sustainability, makes important progress toward eliminating waste and creating healthy, thriving communities."
Kroger offers a flexible plastic recycling program for its Our Brands products in collaboration with TerraCycle to provide customers with free, prepaid shipping labels to mail in the packaging. The recycled materials are used to construct Kroger-donated playgrounds for youth and community organizations.
The retailer is also working toward its Zero Hunger | Zero Waste mission by expanding its product selection containing upcycled ingredients with the addition of Seeded Multigrain Bread and Multigrain Quinoa Bread to the Simple Truth sustainable lineup, both Upcycled Certified by the Upcycled Food Association. The bread is made with upcycled barley, wheat, and rye grains, with each variety topped with ingredients like sunflower, flax, black sesame, pumpkin seeds, and quinoa.
Simple Truth Upcycled Certified products include Plant-Based Dark Chocolate Brownie Mix, Plant-Based Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix, Plant-Based Sugar Cookie Mix, and the new Gluten Free Banana Bread Mix made with upcycled okra flour.
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