PPWR is here: what supplement brands must change about packaging before August 2026

The PPWR (Regulation EU 2025/40) replaces the old packaging directive and tightens the rules brands have been ignoring. Most CMOs will not warn you proactively. Here is what you need to push on now.

Recyclability grading

Every packaging unit must be assigned a recyclability performance grade (A, B, C). From 2028 anything below grade C is banned. HDPE bottles with full-shrink sleeves drop to C or below because the sleeve contaminates the recycling stream. Switch to a wraparound paper label or a partial sleeve, and your bottle moves to grade B.

Minimum recycled content

PET bottles must contain at least 30 percent recycled content from 2030, but several EU buyers (DM, Müller, Albert Heijn) are already enforcing 25 percent on private-label tenders. Ask your CMO whether their bottle supplier can quote rPET at a 4 to 7 percent premium.

Bans on minor formats

Single-use plastic sachets under 100 ml for individual servings are banned in HoReCa from 2027 and likely to extend to retail by 2029. If your brand sells sachet electrolytes, plan a paper-laminate transition this year.

Outer carton and shipper

Empty space ratio in e-commerce shippers is capped at 50 percent from August 2026. If your fulfilment partner ships a 60-cap bottle in a 250 mm cube, you are already non-compliant. Right-size the shipper or accept fines.