Kewpie Corporation

Nisshin OilliO and Kewpie win top award for oily-bottle PET recycling

Nisshin OilliO Group and Kewpie have jointly received Japan's top packaging award, the Japan Star Award, for developing bottle-to-bottle recycling of oil-contaminated PET bottles. The two companies began collaborating in 2024 to solve the quality problems residual oil causes in recycled PET, and in April 2026 launched limited-run edible oil and dressing products in bottles partly made from this recycled material, described as Japan's first such horizontal recycling.

Why this mattersOpens a recycling stream previously blocked by contamination, potentially expanding PET bottle-to-bottle volumes available to food and beverage brand owners.

• Nisshin OilliO and Kewpie jointly won the top Japan Star Award (Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry prize) at the 2026 Japan Packaging Contest, organised by the Japan Packaging Institute.
• The two companies began joint development in 2024 to recycle oil-contaminated PET bottles, previously excluded from recycling over quality concerns from residual oil.
• In April 2026 they launched limited quantities of edible oil and dressing products in PET bottles partly made from recycled material sourced from oil-contaminated bottles at their own plants.
• The launch is described as Japan's first bottle-to-bottle horizontal recycling of oil-contaminated PET bottles.

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