Delivering sustainable packaging is now an integral part of today’s global competitive market. Several large corporations are thinking ‘outside the box’ and are involved in the design and development of truly sustainable packaging that is unique to their brand.
Budweiser, Veuve Clicquot and 360 Vodka are just some of the beverage companies pairing sustainable packaging with more traditional design, according to TheDrinksReport.com.
Along with many other industries, the alcohol business is feeling pressure to green its operations. Also in common with other industries, beverage makers are finding that there is little point in making a product sustainable if it isn’t desirable — and that’s where clever packaging and sustainability come into play.
Who Is Using Sustainable Packaging?
German boxed-wine company Hauswine has put its product in a well-designed, modern looking box that — while eliminating the use of heavy and energy intensive glass — also adds an element of class often lacking from traditional boxed-wine.
Budweiser and Coors Light and Miller have designed an aluminum bottle for its beer, not only does it keep the beverage colder over a period of time but it gives them a different marketing look and the sustainability of aluminum. As well these new bottles have made a large impact in the US market place. Some 73 percent of aluminum is recycled globally.
360 Vodka has almost gone full circle with its product, creating a swing-top bottle in the mold of some early beer bottles, that can be reused, but also making it out of PET. The recyclable PET is lighter and more sustainable than its glass predecessor but maintains its distinctive shape.
Veuve Clicquot has created a 100 percent secondary pack for transportation made of potato starch. The secondary pack allows the champagne to look like “a beautiful product, elegantly designed” on the shelf while still being green. This is a molded part that protects the bottle in shipment. Once again it is thinking bigger than just “corrugated”.
Coca-Cola has also joined in the sustainability movement, in the design of their packages. They strive to use the least amount of natural resources required to protect their products and ensure their safe transport to consumers. Over the past two years, Coca-Cola worldwide has implemented a program called “system wide-light weighting” which has resulted in a cost savings of approximately $180 million in reduction of wasteful materials. To date they have:
- Trimmed the weight of their 20-ounce PET plastic bottle by more than 25 percent
- Shaved 30 percent from the weight of their 12-ounce aluminum can
- Lightened the 8-ounce glass bottle by more than 50 percent
With Major corporations leading the way we can successfully bring products to the market place that are earth-friendly, green and biodegradable, while still being unique in their packaging design.