Allied Glass is a market leader in the UK premium glass packaging segment, with 2022 Estimated Sales of over £150 million
Verallia will expand its Northern European manufacturing footprint with UK presence and reinforce its position in premium glass bottles for the spirits’ market
Verallia, the leading European and the world’s third largest producer of glass containers for food and beverages, has signed a binding agreement with an affiliate of Sun European Partners LLP for the acquisition of Allied Glass, a market leader in the UK premium glass packaging segment with a focus on the premium spirits’ end market.
Expanding Verallia’s premium capabilities and geographic footprint in Northern Europe
With more than 150 years of glass-making expertise each, both groups share the same strong values – especially care for customers and teamwork – that guide and inspire their behavior.
This acquisition will enable Verallia to benefit from Allied’s expertise in premium glass bottles, specifically in the Scotch Whisky and Gin sectors, and from its established position on the UK market.
With this transaction, Allied Glass will integrate an international group, European leader in the glass containers for the food and beverage sector, which will allow it to take advantage of its expertise and its long-term vision.
Allied Glass, an industry-leading premium glass platform
Headquartered in Leeds, Allied Glass is a leading player in the premium glass packaging market in the United Kingdom, where it generates over 95% of its revenues, with 4 furnaces located in West Yorkshire and around 600 employees.
Allied Glass designs, develops and manufactures glass packaging, benefitting from state-of-the-art extra-white, bespoke color and decoration capability, with a strong focus on sustainability, based on an ESG policy with clear targets across all areas and a market leading use of cullet across all products.
Allied Glass has strong relationships with a diversified customer base covering blue chip, traditional and emerging brands, based on a partnership approach to new product development. Allied Glass is led by a strong management team with significant industry experience who have successfully grown the Group’s profitability over the last years.
Allied Glass generated revenue of £138 million in the fiscal year ended December 2021 and over £150 million of revenues are estimated for 2022.
Verallia expects the transaction to have an accretive impact on its Adjusted EBITDA margin reflecting Allied’s strong performance as well as significant synergy potential between both businesses.
Commenting on the acquisition, Patrice Lucas, CEO of Verallia, declared:
“This acquisition of Allied Glass is fully in line with our strategy which is to accelerate our investments in key markets while leveraging our industrial, technological and management expertise to generate synergies. I am convinced that Verallia and Allied Glass have an outstanding fit as we share common vision and values. This is a great milestone too, as the Group will be present on the UK market,I am confident that this combination will create sustainable value for customers, employees and shareholders. Finally, I am delighted to welcome Alan Henderson in the Executive Committee team of Verallia.”
Alan Henderson, CEO of Allied Glass, added:
“Integrating Allied into an international Group, one of the main world leaders in glass manufacturing for food and beverage, is a thrilling challenge for Allied. Based on our respective strengths, the two companies will benefit from strong synergies. Whilst our customers in the UK market will continue to benefit from the same level of quality of service locally, we believe we can further improve our market offering through the support and knowledge of the wider Verallia group.”
Transaction details
Verallia will acquire 100% of the capital of Allied Glass. The transaction is valued at approximately £315 million (enterprise value) and will be financed by Verallia’s existing cash, whilst maintaining the Verallia Group’s leverage below 2x net debt/adjusted EBITDA.
Verallia expects to complete the acquisition by mid-November.
Quick tips based on the FTC Green Guides explain allowable labeling claims for food packaging that is compostable, degradable, or free from dreaded “forever” chemicals.
Packaging claims. Marketers love them, legal challenges them, and consumers often buy because of them. In today’s green space, claims can become a little wishy-washy. And while product manufacturers may have good intentions, sometimes a good packaging story stretches the truth — and this can often lead to confusion.
Enter the Federal Trade Commission’s FTC Green Guides. First introduced in 1992 and revised three times in 1996, 1998, and last in 2012, the guide was designed to provide guidance for environmental marketing claims. More specifically, the guide is a general how-to handbook on “how consumers are likely to interpret particular claims, how marketers can substantiate these claims, and how marketers can qualify their claims to avoid deceiving consumers.”
Fast forward 10 years later, sustainability has earned a seat in the c-suite. Food packaging unknowingly auditioned for a seat on sustainability’s Most Wanted list. And, to help combat climate change, legislation put food packaging in the hot seat for issues ranging from single-use plastic waste to chemicals of concern.
In fact, the right food packaging claim can not only mitigate a business’s legal risk, it can help consumers make smarter disposal decisions and reduce the overall impact on the environment in the process. By providing unbiased scientific evidence for food packaging claims, consumers can feel better about the choices they make regarding their food purchases.
But selecting the right path to substantiate food packaging claims isn’t as simple as it sounds. It’s not a matter of “this is what consumers want to hear” or “this is what competitors are saying.” The decision is considerably more complex. Here are three considerations to help substantiate food packaging claims in accordance with the FTC Green Guides.Image courtesy of ole999 / Alamy Stock Photo
1. How to make compostable claims.
The FTC says this about Compostable Product Claims: “‘A marketer claiming that an item is compostable should have competent and reliable scientific evidence that all the materials in the item will break down into, or otherwise become part of, usable compost (e.g., soil-conditioning material, mulch) in a safe and timely manner (i.e., in approximately the same time as the materials with which it is composted) in an appropriate composting facility, or in a home compost pile or device.”
First, product marketeers can substantiate product claims by conducting third-party product testing to ASTM test standards D6400 or D6868 in North America, and EN 13432 standard in Europe. This is the prerequisite for many certification programs and proves that compostability is feasible based on lab simulated conditions.
Second, participate in third-party certification programs from organizations like Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI), Compost Manufacturing Alliance LLC, and TÜV AUSTRIA Group. This is your product’s ticket into the compost piles. A certification from one of these organizations communicates with confidence to composters your product will degrade as intended.
Third, quantify available access and educate the key stake holders — waste generators, consumers, haulers, and compost facilities — throughout the product lifecycle on disposal best practices. This is necessary to promote proper collection, eliminate contamination, and produce clean compost piles. A win for everyone.Image courtesy of Kira Yan / Alamy Stock Photo
2. How to make landfill and marine degradable product claims.
According to the FTC: “It is deceptive to misrepresent, directly or by implication, that a product or package is degradable, biodegradable, oxo-degradable, oxo-biodegradable, or photodegradable.”
First, product marketers can substantiate product claims by testing to standards — ASTM D551 for landfill degradation and ASTM D6691 for marine degradation. These standards represent the “competent and reliable scientific evidence that the entire item will completely break down and return to nature (i.e., decompose into elements found in nature) within a reasonably short period of time after customary disposal.” In most cases, this is one year or less.
Second, consider the value of third-party certifications and their limitations. Currently, I am unaware of any certification programs for landfill degradation, so this claim is best substantiated through third-party testing to the ASTM standard. Understanding your product’s impact in landfill scenarios is important and can support efforts in transparency when necessary. However, if your product does make it into the landfill, it defeats the intended purpose of recycling or composting. Therefore, this may be a claim left unclaimed.
For marine degradation, TÜV AUSTRIA Group offers a certification program. However, according to the Product Certification Team, food packaging is not eligible for OK biodegradable MARINE certification: “The eligibility of finished products for OK biodegradable is strictly limited to those that have a function in the chosen environment such as mulch films and twine for OK biodegradable SOIL and fishing line and cull panels for OK biodegradable MARINE. It is not the purpose of the OK biodegradable schemes to encourage the disposal of products in the environment where they do not belong. So food packaging is only eligible for OK biodegradable COMPOST under the scope of EN 13432.”
Third, clearly educate key stakeholders on exactly how the product will degrade including, “the product’s or package’s ability to degrade in the environment where it is customarily disposed; and the rate and extent of degradation.” This is important for proper disposal, will help set expectations with key stakeholders and ensure the right efforts to reduce the environmental impact are in place.Image courtesy of Radharc Images / Alamy Stock Photo
3. How to make Free-Of Intentionally Added PFAS product claims.
The FTC states, “It is deceptive to misrepresent, directly or by implication, that a product, package, or service is free of, or does not contain or use, a substance. Such claims should be clearly and prominently qualified to the extent necessary to avoid deception.”
Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) — also known as “forever chemicals” because they are persistent, lasting thousands of years in nature — have been under scrutiny for their toxicity. PFAS chemicals are used to treat foodservice packaging to provide a grease barrier, for example.
For product marketers considering the use of “PFAS-free” claims, first, it is important to understand how to substantiate your claim and to the “extent necessary to avoid deception.” Understand that potentially harmful substitute ingredients will disqualify any Free-Of claims, or if PFAS-use was never intended for the product category. For instance, PFAS use is generally not associated with plastic packaging, and this can disqualify a Free-Of claim.
For ultimate clarity, using a Free-OF claim is most appropriate when “the substance has not been added intentionally to the product.” For instances where intentionally added trace amounts may be present in use, that’s where clarity tends to get a foggy. Today’s PFAS debate in North America calls suspect even trace amounts of intentionally added PFAS. Therefore, if this is the case, as a product claim, this may best unclaimed.
Second, product marketers can substantiate Free-Of intentionally added PFAS claims with third-party certifications, such as Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI). The BPI certification programs has three requirements for eligibility, “The product formula must not contain fluorinated chemicals — as evidenced by safety data sheets for all ingredients, test results from a BPI-Approved lab showing a maximum of 100ppm total organic fluorine, and a statement of no intentionally added fluorinated chemicals, signed by the manufacturer.” Therefore, carrying this mark communicates with certainty to brand owners and consumers the product is Free-Of intentionally added PFAS.
Third, and equally important, offer transparency. Educate brand owners and consumers on ingredient research, product safety, and safe use. Share ingredient data sheets where possible or register with third-party certifications like GreenScreen Certified to communicate ingredient safety, “The GreenScreen Certified Standard for Food Service Ware — Single Use provides the means for manufacturers to communicate their use of safer chemicals per the GreenScreen hazard assessment tools.” Bring awareness to the steps your product takes to offer the safest experience for brand owners and consumers alike.
Making the right food packaging claim isn’t as easy as it once was. Today is not only the era of the environmentally conscious consumers, it is also the era of sustainable packaging legislation and it requires proper planning to meet legal compliance and certification eligibility — and still connect with the consumer’s conscious.
As you begin to consider your options of environmental claims for food packaging, keep your eye on legislation and understand what works for your business and sustainability goals. Educate consumers on your efforts and offer as much transparency into your process as you can. Let’s face it, there isn’t a perfect product package, and this is a truth consumer can handle.
Disclaimer: Opinion piece — this is not intended for legal advice.
The cleverly designed Pop & Click from Drug Plastics uses 65% less plastic than a standard 38-mm push-and-turn, child-resistant (CR) cap.
One of the most novel closure options you’ll see was on display in the West Hall booth of Drug Plastics during Pack Expo Intl. October 23-26 in Chicago.
The Pop & Click cylinder bottles stood out in the booth due to the uniquely design, attention-getting child-resistant (CR) closures. The polypropylene (PP) cap resembles a round flower with small petal-like “fingers” around the perimeter.
To open, the mounded center of the cap is pushed down with finger pressure. That movement lifts and unlocks the small fingers so the closure can be removed; without the pressure, the fingers grasp around a narrow lip molded along the bottle’s rim.
It’s the clever combination design of the closure and bottle finish that makes it work.
Universal design centers on one-handed opening, but the Pop & Click goes one step further with the single-digit operation.Image courtesy of Rick Lingle, Packaging Digest
Drug Plastics reports that seniors and other consumers who lack single-finger strength to open the closure can push down with an elbow.
To re-engage the cap, the user pushes the cap center back to normal and affixes it back atop the bottle with a pleasing “snap” for confirmation.
The closures are available as standard with an induction-sealed thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) liner; an heat-induction liner is optional.
The high-density polyethylene (HDPE) bottles are available in stock sizes of 60-, 100-, and 120-cc volume. The bottles can also be manufactured using post-consumer recycled (PCR) HDPE.
Beyond the remarkable design and convenience, the one-piece Pop & Click closures use 65% less plastic than a comparable industry-standard 38-mm push-and-turn closure.
Overall and depending on bottle size, the total packaging can reduce plastic by 22% to 27%.
A Canadian company is using a small size of Pop & Click packaging (shown above) for cannabis flower.
According to the company, “major pharmaceutical companies” are already interested in the new size options. Drug Plastics is also working with capping machinery companies to permit high-speed production volumes.
