Italian chocolate molds supplier ramps up recycled content
Cabrellon is celebrating its 60-year-long partnership with Eastman's products.
Italian supplier Cabrellon Srl is marking its 60th anniversary by expanding its portfolio with BPA-free Eastman Tritan Renew copolyester—reportedly adding 25% certified recycled content to its chocolate molds. The company is Eastman's longest-standing customer using its Tritan copolyester in industrial chocolate mold applications, Eastman says.
"Reaching 60 years is a milestone that belongs to every customer, every employee, and every partner who has trusted us along the way," says Cinzia Cabrellon, CEO and general manager of Cabrellon. "Tritan has been part of that story for a very long time. We were early to believe that a BPA-free copolyester could match, and in some respects exceed, what polycarbonate offered for chocolate molds."
The partnership between Eastman and Cabrellon represents something rare in the industry, the companies say: a deliberate and entirely voluntary move toward a BPA-free material—taken 10 years before regulation made it a requirement.
For decades, polycarbonate was the default material for industrial chocolate molds. Now the European Commission has adopted Regulation (EU) 2024/3190, which restricts bisphenol A (BPA) and related bisphenols in food-contact materials. Chocolate mold manufacturers and chocolate producers across Europe are now actively seeking alternatives that preserve durability and operational efficiency, Eastman says.
According to the company, offering an alternative to polycarbonate, Tritan and Tritan Renew are engineered to deliver the performance that demanding food-contact applications require. This reportedly includes impact and shatter resistance, dimensional stability under repeated use, excellent mold release for intricate designs, and dishwasher durability.
Tritan is cleared for food contact by both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). It is produced and supplied at commercial scale, giving mold manufacturers and brand owners confidence in consistent, reliable availability, Eastman notes.
Tritan Renew offers the added benefit of certified recycled content produced through Eastman's molecular recycling technology. This allows customers to reduce the carbon footprint of their molds without compromising on performance, clarity, or compliance, the company adds.
Among the chocolate makers that recognized the value of Tritan early is Leone 1857, which adopted Cabrellon's Tritan chocolate molds more than two years ago.
"For Leone, every choice we make in production is a choice about the trust our customers place in us," says Fabio Allaix, Leone 1857 research and development manager. "When Cabrellon introduced us to Tritan molds, we immediately saw their potential as the right material for our chocolate—safe, precise, durable, and BPA-free."
For Cabrellon, adding Tritan Renew is not a transition away from Tritan—it is an extension of a long-standing commitment, it says. To learn more about this long-standing collaboration, visit Cabrellon Adopts BPA-free Tritan Renew for Chocolate Molds on eastman.com.
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