Absolut Debuts First-ever Commercial Single-mold Paper Bottles at Tesco

Absolut Vodka says it’s the first global spirits brand to sell single-mold paper-based bottles commercially in the UK, part of its journey to create a fully bio-based bottle.

By Matt Reynolds, Chief Editor

Absolut Vodka is launching a three-month pilot of a single-mold paper bottle in British supermarket chain Tesco. According to the brand, this is the rst time these single-mold paper-based bottles will be sold commercially in-store by a global spirits com pany. The pilot follows Absolut’s previous limited-release paper bottle tests with lower alcohol-by-volume, ready-to-drink cocktails at festivals in the UK and Sweden.

“This is a step closer towards our vision of a fully bio-based bottle. We are exploring packaging that has a completely different value proposition. Paper is tactile; it’s beautiful; it’s authentic; it’s light. That was our starting point. But this is not just an idea on paper,” says Elin Furelid, director of Future Packaging at Absolut. “We want consumers and partners to join our journey towards a more sustainable future. Together we can develop packaging solutions that people want and the world needs. That’s why bold partnerships with like-minded organisations to test the waters are going to be evermore crucial on our net zero journey.”

The paper bottle initiative is part of a wider collaboration with Paboco (the Paper Bottle Company) and its community of global brands, The Coca-Cola Company, Carlsberg, P&G, and L’Oréal, to work collectively to help the drinks and packaging industries push the boundaries of sustainable packaging. Asbsolut says this represents a signi cant milestone on its journey to create a 100% bio-based bottle and reduce its CO2 emissions.

Single-mold paper bottle design

There are several paper bottle formats on the market that feature two mechanically interlocked shell halves designed to surround an internal liner lled with liquid product. Distillery 98 tequila, for instance, uses the Frugal Bottle concept from Frugalpac in the UK (more on page 8). And several years ago, Seed Phytonutrients was among brands pilot- ing the eco.bottle format by Ecologic Brands for shampoos and conditioners in the states. Advantages of this design include being able to nest the two halves during transportation, saving space and avoiding “shipping air” prior to joining the two halves upon packaging. But from early iterations to this rst-generation commercial launch, the Pabaco and Absolut project has instead relied upon a single-mold design.

The rst-generation bottle uses a polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) liner barrier, which is a monomaterial with strong barrier properties that can be recycled along with closely related polyethylene terephthalate (PET) in small proportions.

“It has always single one-piece molding, that’s why our product is so strong, durable, and works for liquids,” says Tim Silbermann, CTO, Paboco. “There is no seam that could burst open, for example.”

“Using a single-mold technology gives us the best properties for our paper bottle. We need to protect the goods within, and this is achieved by manufacturing the bottle as a single item—no glue, no hinges, no aps to hold multiple pieces together,” adds Eric Näf, director, Packaging Development at The Absolut Company. “Additionally, the process is more ef cient this way. We don’t need any additional steps down the line to assemble two shells and, by forming the bottle in one piece, we can be more energy and process ef cient.”

The pulp used in these bottles is fully Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certi ed material. No recycled material has been used for these bottles to avoid running into food safety and material traceability concerns.

“Using fresh virgin bers gives us the best performance across important factors, like strength, and is the baseline for our vision of a fully bio-based bottle,” Silbermann says. “Only if the paper itself brings the