Quality Street has announced a major change to its famous chocolates ahead of the busy Christmas period.

Nestle, the multinational food company behind the festive fan favourite, are to axe the iconic colourful wrappers in a bid of becoming more environmentally friendly.

The bright packaging has coated the chocolates for 86 years and will now be replaced with recyclable wax paper.

Customers who are stocking up on the sweet selections for Christmas and New Year will begin to see the change in the coming weeks.

Glasgow Times: PA/NestlePA/Nestle (Image: PA)

Quality Street scraps foil wrappers ahead of Christmas

It is hoped that the move will stop around two billion wrappers a year from being thrown into landfill, the Sun reports.

The foil wrappers may lose their shine but they will retain their familiar colours.

The new wrapping features a vegetable-based wax coating which will act as a protective paper for the chocolate inside.

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Speaking to the Mirror, Nestle’s head of sustainability Cheryl Allen said the company had deliberated the change for a long time.

Ms Allen: “Quality Street is a brand that people feel very strongly about.

“We know that opening the lid and seeing ‘the jewels’, as we call them, is really important.

“We think we’ve done a really good job with the redesign, and feel confident that people will respond positively.”