In 2020, Mzansi’s most beloved beer brand, Castle Lager turns 125 years old and continues its iconic legacy as an integral part the nation’s heritage and culture.
To memorialise this auspicious occasion, the brand has revealed that it has reimagined its look and feel and has made a number of significant changes which will become Castle Lager’s key feature in telling a 125-year-old tale of resilience and homegrown fervour.
For 125 years, Castle Lager has not only stood as a vanguard of resilience and unity, bringing the nation together around our nation’s favourite pastime, sport and braais; but has also been a paragon of a brand that is 100% homegrown. A rich and passionate story that deserves to be told time and again.
Castle Lager also wants to use this occasion to remind South Africans that Castle Lager uses only South African ingredients, a big contributing factor to making it the nation’s favourite beer and the only beer to sit in the Top 5 Strongest Brands category of Brand South Africa and Brand Finance’s 2020 Top 50 South African brands.
“We’re all about welcoming new friends and bringing South Africans together. No matter who you are, we want you to celebrate with us and raise the new-look Castle as a toast not only to our birthday, but also to yourselves for making Castle the brand that it is today…and for having overcome a tough year,” said Castle Lager Brand Director, Kudzi Mathabire.
And because, in the case of Castle Lager, they believe that there is much more to a label than just aesthetics, the design of the new look Castle Lager packs have meaning behind them. These homegrown credentials are a celebration of our hot South African sun, the fresh, clear water used to brew the beer, the finest hops harvested in the Waboomskraal Valley near George, and the sun-kissed barley from Caledon and Free State golden maize.
“All our ingredients and packaging are locally sourced; everything that goes into the manufacturing of Castle Lager, is made here in our beautiful country, and we are proud to chart a new journey in 2020 with you, our biggest supporters,” Mathabire continued.
Castle Lager is upgrading its current packaging, which has been around since 2007, to a modern design applied to a rich heritage and emphasises on the brand’s 100% homegrown credentials. Consumers can now purchase the new packaging which has subtle, yet powerful changes, made to retain Castle Lager’s heritage, while bringing the brand’s image into a modern age.
Key features of the new look and feel include: a new and modernised “African” Barley design; new, modern shades of gold; modernised fonts with the previous shadows dropped, Brand SA endorsement, as well as a new copy on the neck and back labels of the packaging that pays homage to each of the towns that our ingredients are sourced from.
To memorialise this turn-of-the-century updated brand look, Castle Lager is also proud to reveal its new, limited-edition Heritage T-shirts, which not only mark this joyous occasion for the brand, but also honours the brand’s consumers who have supported them and played a role in the brand’s journey over the 125 years.
“To celebrate our staying power and homegrown creds, we’ve designed a series of shirts that repurpose some of our most unique and iconic bottle labels over the ages to signal our South African-ness and how far we have come. These yesteryear label designs evoke a powerful sense of nostalgia,” Mathabire revealed.
Embedded in the design of each T-shirt, are the names of each and every person who impacts Castle Lager through the SAB value stream. These shirts not only celebrate the brand’s 125-year history, but also honour the teams and people behind the brand (over 10,500 names).The brand employs South Africans to wear these T-shirts as a tribute to the people behind South Africa’s favourite beer.
Castle Lager’s Heritage T-shirts are available in Ivory, Maroon, and Charcoal from South Africa’s leading online store, www.takealot.com as of 26 September 2020.
For more information check out www.castlelager.co.za or follow the official social media pages:
Facebook: Castle Lager SA Twitter: @CastleLagerSA Instagram: castlelagersa
Spirits company Bacardi has unveiled plans to use a new, 100 per cent biodegradable bottle, which the company says will replace 80 million plastic bottles, or 3000 tonnes of plastic, currently produced by the company every year.
The move is possible thanks to Bacardi’s collaboration with Danimer Scientific, a developer and manufacturer of biodegradable products.
Petroleum-based plastics used by Bacardi today will be replaced by Danimer Scientific’s Nodax PHA, a biopolymer which derives from the natural oils of plant seeds such as palm, canola, and soy.
While a regular plastic bottle takes more than 400 years to decompose, the new spirits bottle made from Nodax PHA will biodegrade in a wide range of environments, including compost, soil, freshwater and sea water, and after 18 months disappear without leaving behind harmful microplastics.
Bacardi rum will be the first spirit to appear in the new bottle, before the plant-based material is rolled out to replace single-use plastic across the entire Bacardi supply chain and the company’s 200 brands and labels including Bombay Sapphire gin, Grey Goose vodka, Patrón tequila, Martini vermouth and Dewar’s Scotch whisky.
Bacardi rum senior vice-president said: “Over our 158-year history, Bacardi has always believed in respecting the world’s natural resources and acting responsibly, from the sustainable sourcing of our sugarcane to the water and energy used to make our rum. We’re now excited to be pioneering this new biopolymer technology for the benefit of all Bacardi brands and the entire spirits industry.”
As well as the new 100 per cent biopolymer spirits bottle, Bacardi is also creating a sustainably sourced paper bottle.
By integrating the Nodax PHA polymer, this alternative solution will have equally strong environmental credentials while ensuring the quality and taste of the spirit inside a bottle made of paper is as exceptional as one made of glass.
Jean-Marc Lambert, senior vice-president, global operations for Bacardi, said: “When we set ourselves the goal of being 100 per cent plastic free by 2030, we knew that it would take ground-breaking advances in packaging design to make it achievable, and that’s exactly what’s happening through our partnership with Danimer.”
Thanks to the versatility of this innovative new material, the Bacardi packaging development team will also crack one of the beverage industry’s longest-standing plastic problems – the plastic lining of bottle closures.
“It may sound small,” Lambert said. “But add that up across every bottle produced globally and we’re talking many tons of plastic every day. Once we’ve fixed the problem, we’ll be open sourcing the solution for the entire industry to use. This isn’t about competitive advantage it’s about doing the right thing for the planet.”
As well as launching the new biopolymer bottle in 2023, the company has also committed to removing all its non-essential, single-use plastic, including all plastic gift box materials and plastic point-of-sale materials, in the next three years.
Nodax PHA was verified as a truly biodegradable alternative to petrochemical plastics by the University of Georgia (UGA) and the UGA New Materials Institute in a 2018 study. Danimer Scientific currently uses the material for a wide range of applications, including thermoformed trays, drinking straws, flexible and multi-layer film packaging, coatings, disposable cutlery, and more.
Danimer Scientific chief marketing and sustainability officer Scott Tuten said: “Nodax PHA is one of the most promising eco-friendly materials in the world today because it delivers the biodegradability that consumers demand without losing the quality feel they receive from traditional plastic.
“The material provides the best of both worlds, and we look forward to working with Bacardi and incorporating PHA into their iconic packaging.
Major brand owners like Absolut, Diageo, Carlsberg, and PepsiCo are developing paper bottles, but what does a market analyst say about this paper chase?
Until the last couple years the concept of a paper bottle would seem at best an oxymoron, but innovations continue to break barriers in the pursuit of packaging that offers sustainability benefits, ideally aligned with recycling.
Thus, there’s renewed interest by major brands in paper bottles, which though not new, are experiencing increased activity, undoubtedly sparked by the anti-plastic sentiment sweeping the globe.
Until the last couple years the concept of a paper bottle would seem at best an oxymoron, but innovations continue to break barriers in the pursuit of packaging that offers sustainability benefits, ideally aligned with recycling.
Thus, there’s renewed interest by major brands in paper bottles, which though not new, are experiencing increased activity, undoubtedly sparked by the anti-plastic sentiment sweeping the globe.https://e9684372136265cda297c5523bc40606.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-37/html/container.html
A historical sampling of Packaging Digest features uncovered a mix of the new and old among these paper bottle citations across various markets from spirits to beer to detergent starting in 2015 and extending through last month; the links appear at the end of this report.
In light of the news that Diageo, the parent company of the Johnnie Walker brand, will package the spirits brand in 100% plastic-free bottles starting in 2021 (see Paper Bottle Coming Soon to a Liquor Store Near You, published August 2020), Lux Research released this commentary: “Diageo has formed a [joint venture] called Pulpex with Pilot Lite to develop the paper bottle technology and will manufacture the paper bottles in-house. The company has always used third-party suppliers for its glass bottles, so it is unclear why the company decided to produce the paper bottles internally; it is very unusual for a brand owner company to vertically integrate itself to produce packaging along with its core products. Clients should note that it is better to partner with startups or converters to obtain sustainable packaging solutions rather than trying to do it all themselves.”
The writer is market analyst and Lux Research Associate Drishti Masand, who responds to our questions about paper bottles in this exclusive interview.
Until the last couple years the concept of a paper bottle would seem at best an oxymoron, but innovations continue to break barriers in the pursuit of packaging that offers sustainability benefits, ideally aligned with recycling.
Thus, there’s renewed interest by major brands in paper bottles, which though not new, are experiencing increased activity, undoubtedly sparked by the anti-plastic sentiment sweeping the globe.https://e9684372136265cda297c5523bc40606.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-37/html/container.html
A historical sampling of Packaging Digest features uncovered a mix of the new and old among these paper bottle citations across various markets from spirits to beer to detergent starting in 2015 and extending through last month; the links appear at the end of this report.
In light of the news that Diageo, the parent company of the Johnnie Walker brand, will package the spirits brand in 100% plastic-free bottles starting in 2021 (see Paper Bottle Coming Soon to a Liquor Store Near You, published August 2020), Lux Research released this commentary: “Diageo has formed a [joint venture] called Pulpex with Pilot Lite to develop the paper bottle technology and will manufacture the paper bottles in-house. The company has always used third-party suppliers for its glass bottles, so it is unclear why the company decided to produce the paper bottles internally; it is very unusual for a brand owner company to vertically integrate itself to produce packaging along with its core products. Clients should note that it is better to partner with startups or converters to obtain sustainable packaging solutions rather than trying to do it all themselves.”
The writer is market analyst and Lux Research Associate Drishti Masand, who responds to our questions about paper bottles in this exclusive interview.
Carlsberg Brewing
A year ago, Carlsberg unveiled two new research prototypes of the Green Fibre Bottle, both made from sustainably sourced wood fibres, fully recyclable, and with an inner barrier to allow the bottles to contain beer. One prototype uses a thin recycled PET polymer film barrier, and the other a 100% bio-based PEF polymer film barrier.
What’s behind the recent announcements about paper bottles in beverage markets?
Masand: The paper bottle for beverage markets is not a new innovation; it has been under development for a few years with other brands like The Coca-Cola Company, Carlsberg and a start-up company called Paboco. Carlsberg was the first company and launched calls for a pulp-based bottle in 2016 to replace its glass bottles. It has sought different partners to realize this goal. While the concept of a paper bottle is not new, it can be considered as an emerging trend as the popularity and awareness of it is on the rise at the moment with more brand and industries, for example personal care brands like L’Oreal, also adopting paper bottles.
What are the differences in the paper bottles from Diageo, PepsiCo, and Frugalpac?
Masand: Diageo founded Pulpex, in partnership with Pilot Lite (a venture management company). The announcements for Diageo’s paper bottles for Johnnie Walker, and PepsiCo’s are the same technology and application: to replace glass/plastic bottles with paper bottles for drinks. Frugal Bottle is also a very similar technology and is targeting the same application as Pulpex.
Loss of transparency is a major downside in a move away from plastic packaging. What are other shortcomings?
Masand: Paper is frequently suggested as a substitute for plastic packaging, even more so than bioplastics. Several companies are shifting to paper-based packaging to reduce the use of plastics.
However, current available data suggests that paper packaging generally requires several times more mass to fulfil the same function as its plastic counterpart. As a result, the overall environmental impact tends to be higher for paper, except in its carbon footprint. Additionally, replacing plastic with paper could lead to a serious supply problem. Paper is a short-term solution and will simply shift the burden for packaging problems.
Are paper bottles at a cost premium to plastic?
Masand: All paper products for packaging typically have a 10-20 cents per piece premium. This is a big challenge that hinders paper packaging adoption. To overcome the issue, the industry has been moving to adopt a wider feedstock by using agricultural waste fibres along with hardwood and softwood fibres. The hope is that by using waste fibres, companies can achieve more sustainability and reduce costs to then lower the price premium for products.
What other beverage markets may be vulnerable to a plastic-to-paper bottle change?
Masand: The bottled water is another beverage market facing potential penetration from alternate materials like paper bottles. However, aluminium bottles and cans seem to be dominating as an alternative to plastic rather than paper.Some start-ups include Open Water, Reign Water Company, Wallaby Water, and CanO Water
Should plastic bottle suppliers be nervous?
Masand: No, it is highly unlikely for paper bottles to disruptive plastic bottles on a significant scale, at least in the near-term. In the long run, I think recycling technologies will improve considerably, allowing for a higher recycling rate for plastic bottles and other plastic packaging to enable a circular economy for plastics. With that, it is unlikely for any alternate materials to disrupt the plastic industry.
What are the technical challenges to the paper bottle?
Masand: Paper bottles need a coating or plastic liner on the inside to provide moisture barrier, and resistance to other environmental factors. While companies claim the layers can be easily separated for recyclability, we are sceptical of those claims given the challenges in recycling plastic-lined paper today and the likelihood that the companies aren’t using any technology to allow for that separation.
Also, the cap and closure for these paper bottles is aluminium- or plastic-based, so it would need to be separated and sent into different recycling streams — that is highly dependent on efficient collection and sorting, and so again makes us sceptical of the end-of-life processing success rate
Until the last couple years the concept of a paper bottle would seem at best an oxymoron, but innovations continue to break barriers in the pursuit of packaging that offers sustainability benefits, ideally aligned with recycling.
Thus, there’s renewed interest by major brands in paper bottles, which though not new, are experiencing increased activity, undoubtedly sparked by the anti-plastic sentiment sweeping the globe.https://e9684372136265cda297c5523bc40606.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-37/html/container.html
A historical sampling of Packaging Digest features uncovered a mix of the new and old among these paper bottle citations across various markets from spirits to beer to detergent starting in 2015 and extending through last month; the links appear at the end of this report.
In light of the news that Diageo, the parent company of the Johnnie Walker brand, will package the spirits brand in 100% plastic-free bottles starting in 2021 (see Paper Bottle Coming Soon to a Liquor Store Near You, published August 2020), Lux Research released this commentary: “Diageo has formed a [joint venture] called Pulpex with Pilot Lite to develop the paper bottle technology and will manufacture the paper bottles in-house. The company has always used third-party suppliers for its glass bottles, so it is unclear why the company decided to produce the paper bottles internally; it is very unusual for a brand owner company to vertically integrate itself to produce packaging along with its core products. Clients should note that it is better to partner with startups or converters to obtain sustainable packaging solutions rather than trying to do it all themselves.”
The writer is market analyst and Lux Research Associate Drishti Masand, who responds to our questions about paper bottles in this exclusive interview.
Carlsberg Brewing
A year ago, Carlsberg unveiled two new research prototypes of the Green Fibre Bottle, both made from sustainably sourced wood fibres, fully recyclable, and with an inner barrier to allow the bottles to contain beer. One prototype uses a thin recycled PET polymer film barrier, and the other a 100% bio-based PEF polymer film barrier.
What’s behind the recent announcements about paper bottles in beverage markets?
Masand: The paper bottle for beverage markets is not a new innovation; it has been under development for a few years with other brands like The Coca-Cola Company, Carlsberg and a start-up company called Paboco. Carlsberg was the first company and launched calls for a pulp-based bottle in 2016 to replace its glass bottles. It has sought different partners to realize this goal. While the concept of a paper bottle is not new, it can be considered as an emerging trend as the popularity and awareness of it is on the rise at the moment with more brand and industries, for example personal care brands like L’Oreal, also adopting paper bottles.
Packaging Digest
A line-up of paper bottles not to scale from left-to-right: Diageo Johnnie Walker, Frugal Bottles for wines, and Absolut vodka.
What are the differences in the paper bottles from Diageo, PepsiCo, and Frugalpac?
Masand: Diageo founded Pulpex, in partnership with Pilot Lite (a venture management company). The announcements for Diageo’s paper bottles for Johnnie Walker, and PepsiCo’s are the same technology and application: to replace glass/plastic bottles with paper bottles for drinks. Frugal Bottle is also a very similar technology and is targeting the same application as Pulpex.
Loss of transparency is a major downside in a move away from plastic packaging. What are other shortcomings?
Masand: Paper is frequently suggested as a substitute for plastic packaging, even more so than bioplastics. Several companies are shifting to paper-based packaging to reduce the use of plastics.
However, current available data suggests that paper packaging generally requires several times more mass to fulfil the same function as its plastic counterpart. As a result, the overall environmental impact tends to be higher for paper, except in its carbon footprint. Additionally, replacing plastic with paper could lead to a serious supply problem. Paper is a short-term solution and will simply shift the burden for packaging problems.
The 750mL Frugal Bottle made by Frugalpac is made from 94% recycled paperboard with a food-grade liner and, at just 83 grams, is up to five times lighter than a glass bottle. An independent Life Cycle Analysis by Intertek found it has a carbon footprint up to six times (84%) lower than a glass bottle and more than a third less than a bottle made from 100% rPET.
Are paper bottles at a cost premium to plastic?
Masand: All paper products for packaging typically have a 10-20 cents per piece premium. This is a big challenge that hinders paper packaging adoption. To overcome the issue, the industry has been moving to adopt a wider feedstock by using agricultural waste fibres along with hardwood and softwood fibres. The hope is that by using waste fibres, companies can achieve more sustainability and reduce costs to then lower the price premium for products.
What other beverage markets may be vulnerable to a plastic-to-paper bottle change?
Masand: The bottled water is another beverage market facing potential penetration from alternate materials like paper bottles. However, aluminium bottles and cans seem to be dominating as an alternative to plastic rather than paper.Some start-ups include Open Water, Reign Water Company, Wallaby Water, and CanO Water.
Should plastic bottle suppliers be nervous?
Masand: No, it is highly unlikely for paper bottles to disruptive plastic bottles on a significant scale, at least in the near-term. In the long run, I think recycling technologies will improve considerably, allowing for a higher recycling rate for plastic bottles and other plastic packaging to enable a circular economy for plastics. With that, it is unlikely for any alternate materials to disrupt the plastic industry.
What are the technical challenges to the paper bottle?
Masand: Paper bottles need a coating or plastic liner on the inside to provide moisture barrier, and resistance to other environmental factors. While companies claim the layers can be easily separated for recyclability, we are sceptical of those claims given the challenges in recycling plastic-lined paper today and the likelihood that the companies aren’t using any technology to allow for that separation.
Also, the cap and closure for these paper bottles is aluminium- or plastic-based, so it would need to be separated and sent into different recycling streams — that is highly dependent on efficient collection and sorting, and so again makes us sceptical of the end-of-life processing success rate.
Final thoughts?
Masand: Many companies are adopting solutions that solve the issue of plastics waste; however, they create a new set of sustainability challenges. All the alternative materials solutions have a separate set of problems associated with them; thus, they simply shift the packaging problem. With that, paper packaging will continue to grow for adoption, but will never be a substantial threat to plastics.
Henkel has relaunched three of its major retail brands in new, sustainably-minded packaging with a focus on the use of Social Plastic, recyclable black plastic, and PCR materials
Alongside the launch of Nature Box’s new 98% natural-origin recipe, Henkel is also taking further steps in its collaboration with the social enterprise Plastic Bank.
Nature Box is being described as the first beauty brand to introduce Social Plastic as a packaging material for its complete bottle portfolio: All bottle bodies of Nature Box are made of 98% Social Plastic – plastic that, in Henkel’s words, has been collected by people living in poverty before it can enter oceans and waterways.
Henkel is currently working to replace the remaining 2% virgin plastic, which is based on the bottle’s color, with the recycled material as well. For that, the company is already testing a color carrier consisting of Social Plastic.
Last year, Henkel introduced its first recyclable black plastic packaging. Since the relaunch of Henkel’s haircare brand Syoss in September, the brand’s black packaging is fully recyclable due to the use of a carbon-free colorant. Additionally, all of the shampoo bottles are made of 98% percent recycled material (excluding the cap).
With a major brand relaunch of the Schwarzkopf brand Gliss Kur, Henkel has increased the proportion of recycled material across the entire product range. Whereas the new shampoo and conditioner PE bottles are made of 30% recycled content, the shampoo and Express Repair Conditioner PET bottles consist of 97% recycled material.
All of the bottle bodies are recyclable and, by reducing the use of metallic foil, Henkel says that the overall recycling process is simplified. Additionally, the new black caps are made of carbon-free material which reportedly means that they are fully recyclable as well.
As part of Henkel’s sustainability efforts, the company has set itself packaging targets for 2025 to promote a circular economy. By that point, the company hopes that 100% of its packaging will be recyclable or reusable and that it will have reduced fossil-based virgin plastics by half in its consumer goods packaging. Additionally, Henkel wants to contribute to avoiding plastic waste being disposed of in the environment.
“We are fully committed to contributing to a circular economy and are working towards our ambitious packaging targets for 2025. The relaunch of three of our biggest brands marks a true milestone and demonstrates our holistic approach to transform our entire portfolio with regards to sustainability,” said Philippe Blank, head of circular economy at Henkel Beauty Care.
Cosmetics producer L’Oréal has partnered with LanzaTech and Total to create the world’s first bottle made from captured and recycled carbon emissions.
The conversion process takes place in three steps. First, LanzaTech captures industrial carbon emissions and converts them into ethanol using a unique biological process.
Next, thanks to an innovative dehydration process jointly developed with IFP Axens, Total converts the ethanol into ethylene before polymerizing it into polyethylene that, according to the company, has the same technical characteristics as its fossil counterpart.
L’Oréal then uses this polyethylene to produce packaging that reportedly has the same quality and properties as conventional polyethylene.
LanzaTech’s CEO, Jennifer Holmgren, said: “This partnership is based on a shared goal of creating a cleaner planet for everyone. We are grateful to both L’Oréal and Total for their commitment to reducing the carbon intensity of their activities.
“Together, we can reduce the carbon footprint of packaging by converting carbon emissions into useful products, making single-use carbon a thing of the past.”
Senior vice president of polymers at Total, Valérie Goff, added: “This partnership is an excellent example of collaboration between industrial firms in developing the plastics of the future produced from recycled carbon and meets a strong demand from our customers.
“The development of this new pathway of valuing industrial carbon emissions also contributes to the Group’s commitment to get to net zero in Europe by 2050.”
Jacques Playe, packaging and development director at L’Oréal, said: “L’Oréal is constantly improving the environmental footprint of its packaging. With this innovation converting carbon emissions into polyethylene, we aim to develop new sustainable packaging solutions.
“We have the ambition to use this sustainable material in our bottle of shampoo and conditioner by 2024 and we hope other companies will join us in using this breakthrough innovation.”
Looking ahead, the partners intend to continue working together on scaling the production of these sustainable plastics.
Schoeller Allibert has launched a new and upgraded version of its Maxinest container for the food processing and grocery retail markets.
Jon Walkington, retail and system integrator sales director at Schoeller Allibert UK, commented: “Maxinest Evo represents the evolution of the original Maxinest range of products which, after facilitating hundreds of millions of journeys since their mass-adoption in the 1990s, remains the standard on which food and grocery retail supply chains operate today.
“During the past 30 years, numerous companies have tried to replicate the original Maxinest container, resulting in a range of ‘copy-cat’ products boasting a lower price point but with typically short-lived performance. With a combination of input from the world’s leading injection moulding technology companies and Schoeller Allibert’s unique plastic engineering know-how, the Maxinest Evo range of products has been born.”
Produced for retailers operating in a new era of e-commerce and supply chain complexity brought about by COVID-19, the company says that Maxinest Evo is the ideal solution for in-store display, home delivery, click & collect and intra-logistics.
The enhanced range includes extra ventilation, without compromising structural integrity, for better food preservation during transit.
With in-house European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) approved recycling sites, Maxinest Evo is manufactured from EFSA food-approved PP material, reportedly guaranteeing safety in the food supply chain. The company says that its manufacturing process also upholds its commitment to creating a circular economy.
Walkington added: “We developed Maxinest Evo in response to increasing calls from customers to optimise efficiency, whilst also ensuring the product is more environmentally friendly to drive down waste and cost through the supply chain. No similar product can provide the strength, durability, length of service, and sustainability, at the same price point, as that of Maxinest Evo.
“These totes are high value-add, returnable, reusable, and recyclable. Not only are the containers compatible with the existing Maxinest range, but we can process reclaimed material from old or damaged containers and recycle them to manufacture new products, minimising our waste and environmental impact.”
In partnership with Paboco and the three other companies in the Paboco Pioneer Community, Coca-Cola has revealed a first-generation prototype of its paper bottle.
The company has not yet realised its ultimate goal of creating a 100% paper-based bottle, as the structure of the prototype consists of a paper shell with a plastic closure and a plastic liner inside.
While the plastic used is 100% recycled and can be recycled again after use, the company aims to eventually create a paper bottle that can be recycled like any paper. Coca-Cola says that the next step is to find a solution to create a bottle without the plastic liner.
“Our vision is to create a paper bottle that can be recycled like any other type of paper, and this prototype is the first step on the way to achieving this. A paper bottle opens up a whole new world of packaging possibilities, and we are convinced that paper packaging has a role to play in the future,” says Stijn Franssen, EMEA R&D packaging innovation manager at Coca-Cola, who is working on the project.
Just like other types of packaging, a paper bottle of the future must adhere to the same high safety and quality standards for food and drink packaging that currently apply. Stijn and this team are putting the bottle through testing in a lab to see how it performs in the refrigerator, how strong it is, and how well it protects the beverage inside.
“We also reflect on how our consumers will react to this paper bottle. Topics like when and where it could be sold and how it can be recycled are all considered. The bottle must be explored from every perspective to ensure that we make the bottle the best it can be,” concludes Stijn.
Consumer goods giant Unilever has stepped up its strategy to incorporate more recycled plastic, as well as reducing its use of the material.
The company said that one year on from its pledge to halve its use of virgin plastic by 2025, it has increased its use of post-consumer recycled plastic (PCR) to around 75,000 tonnes. Unilever added that it expects its use of PCR to double in the next 12 months.
Unilever has also said that it plans to save 4,500 tonnes of plastic through the launch of innovations such as recyclable paper-based ice cream tubs.
Unilever chief executive Alan Jope said: “Throwaway culture and throwaway business models continue to dominate our lives and damage our planet. Despite challenging conditions, we must not turn our backs on plastic pollution. It is crucial that we – and the rest of the industry – stay the course, cut the amount of plastic we use, and rapidly transition to a circular economy.”
Richard Slater, Unilever’s chief R&D officer added: “To tackle the root causes of plastic waste we need to think differently about packaging. We need bold innovations that challenge existing designs, materials and business models. Our priority is to fundamentally rethink our approach to packaging, and pave the way for new solutions such as reusable and refillable formats.
“By adopting a ‘test, learn and refine’ mentality, we’ve developed innovative solutions that will help people cut their use of plastic for good. One product doing just that is our ultra-concentrated formula for OMO which is diluted at home and uses 72% less plastic. After a successful launch in Brazil, we’re now rolling this out in other countries across Latin America, Europe and the Middle East. Similarly, our Cif Ecorefill started out as a pilot in the UK and has since been rolled out across Europe, Canada and Australia.
“It’s still early days. But by making refill and reuse formats more widely available, accessible, and affordable, we hope to use our scale and reach to drive lasting change.”
