NEW PACKAGING FOR A NEW ERA

WITH DRS ON THE HORIZON, MANY PRODUCERS HAVE ALREADY BEEN DOING THEIR BIT TO REDUCE THE IMPACT OF THEIR PRODUCTS BY IMPROVING THE SUSTAINABILITY CREDENTIALS OF THEIR PACKAGING. HERE ARE A FEW EXAMPLES....

Heineken Gets A Grip On Sustainability

Heineken has launched a more robust version of its Green Grip sustainable packaging solution.

The Green Grip performs the same function as traditional plastic can rings but without the need for single-use plastic. It first launched in August 2020, replacing plastic can rings with a 100% recyclable cardboard topper for multipacks, and saving 336 tonnes of single-use plastic since its debut.

The new packaging forms part of a wider £14m investment and follows months of research and development. A dedicated team trialled several solutions and found a double layer of cardboard to be the best performing and easier for both retail staff and consumers to handle.

The all-new double-layered Green Grip is rolling out across all Heineken brands in multipack cans, including Heineken, Birra Moretti, Strongbow, and John Smith’s.

Last year, as part of its Brew a Better World sustainability programme, Heineken announced its commitments to fully decarbonise its production sites by 2030 and its full value chain – including packaging and logistics – by 2040.

Levi Roots Launches Recyclable Caribbean Crush Bottle

to consumers the recyclability of the packaging, making it easier for them to dispose of responsibly.

Jenny Powell, Brand and Innovation

Levi Roots has introduced fully recyclable clear plastic bottles for its Caribbean Crush variant – alongside updated labelling.

The move from green to clear bottles is intended to aid consumer navigation, and the introduction of the new packaging unifies the full Levi Roots range to offer 100% recyclable bottles, including lids. The clear plastic bottles also signpost

Controller at brand owner Nichols, said: “Levi Roots is a well-established brand within the Nichols plc family and we’re delighted to launch our 100% recyclable Caribbean Crush bottles into the market.

“As a business, we want to ensure that we’re creating a happier future for our planet by doing things the right way. By making the bottle clear we’re able to make it easier for consumers to navigate the recyclability of the products, as well as ensuring we align the look and feel across all of the Levi Roots flavour variants.”

Accolade unleashes Wise Wolf

Accolade Wines launched Wise Wolf, a new carbon neutral wine range under its Banrock Station brand that comes in bottles made using 100% recycled glass.

As well as the environmentally friendly bottles, the labels are made from 100% recycled paper, the closures are 100% recycled plastic and the outers are made from 100% recycled paper pulp.

Every element of the packaging has been carefully considered, and shoppers are invited to learn more about each part by scanning an on-pack QR code and visiting wisewolfwines.com.

With almost three-quarters (71%) of wine drinkers prepared to make lifestyle changes for the environment, Wise Wolf expects to meet consumer demand with younger wine drinkers increasingly aware of the impact of their consumption.

Barr moves Irn-Bru range into 100% recycled bottles

Barr Soft Drinks rolled out 100% recycled plastic (rPET) across all its 500ml Irn-Bru and Rubicon products in 2022.

The move formed a crucial part of a wider initiative, No Time To Waste, that brings together net zero, plastic and packaging, waste, water and sustainable sourcing workstreams.

Adrian Troy, Barr’s Marketing Director, commented: “We recognise that we have a responsibility to protect our planet and we know how important it is that we act now to try and reduce our impact on the environment.

“It has always been really important to us to make a positive contribution to society and behave responsibly as a business; respecting the environment has been a key pillar of this work.

“Sustainability is also a key issue for our consumers. 58% of consumers say that environmental issues are important to them, that’s up 5% from a 2020 study, which is encouraging to see.”

Lucozade Sport dons new sustainable kit

Lucozade Sport unveiled a new kit with a reduced plastic sleeve on its bottles as part of its continued focus to become more sustainable.

The new-look sleeve follows Suntory Beverage & Food GB&I (SBF GB&I)’s £7.8m investment to make its packaging more sustainable, as part of the company’s Growing For Good vision that focuses on positive change for businesses, people and the planet.

The reduced sleeve alone will save 101 tonnes of virgin plastic being produced annually and allows the bottle to be more easily identified and sorted into the correct waste stream, helping ensure more Lucozade Sport bottles are turned back into bottles within the current UK recycling infrastructure.

The Lucozade Sport sleeve redesign follows a major packaging update on the Ribena brand, including launching paper straws for Ribena cartons, as well as a move to 50% transparent sleeves across the Lucozade Energy range to allow them to be recycled more easily back into bottles. Lucozade Sport’s new kit helps bring SBF GB&I closer to its goal of making all its plastic packaging sustainable by 2030 and is also a key step toward the company’s ambition of reaching net zero emissions by 2050.

Tom Bell, Head of Marketing for Lucozade Sport at SBF GB&I, said: “This is a key move for the Lucozade Sport brand and, more broadly, for SBF GB&I as part of our Growing For Good vision. The new sleeve not only makes Lucozade Sport bottles easier to recycle – and therefore turned more easily back into bottles – but equally benefits retailers by being more eyecatching and striking on shelf, helping shoppers to find their favourite isotonic drink more easily.”

Molson Coors trials low-carbon glass beer bottles

Molson Coors launched a low-carbon glass beer bottle, following a trial in partnership with Encirc, that reduced the carbon impact of its bottle production by up to 90%.

The trial, produced two million glass bottles for its Staropramen brand, which are now available across the UK. The bottles are manufactured using up to 100% cullet – recycled or waste glass – up from 75% previously used in its green glass bottles. As well as significantly increasing the recycled content of the bottles, the trial uses renewable and sustainable biofuels rather than those traditionally used in the glass production process. As a result, the carbon footprint of each bottle is reduced by up to 90%.

Molson Coors and Encirc have been bottling partners for almost 25 years, and this latest initiative forms part of Molson Coors’ wider sustainability goals, which include reducing its carbon emissions across its global operations by 50% by 2025.