Style strategies

1 December 2010



Europe’s beverage producers are striving to balance the often conflicting demands for sustainability, functionality and aesthetics, reports Lynda Searby.


French soft drinks group Orangina Schweppes says its packaging development is focused on four, overarching axes: design, sustainability, functionality and convenience.

“Design, in that we see packaging as a way to differentiate and add value to our brands; sustainability, because as a socially responsible company we strive to minimise the environmental effect of our activities; functionality, as packaging is not only a product carrier but an element that supports our product quality strategy; and convenience - we have a formats strategy to make product available to consumers at every single consumption opportunity,” explains Packaging Development and Innovation Engineer Elodie Julliot.

Whilst every major beverage producer has a different packaging strategy, chances are that sustainability will feature highly in each and every one.

This is certainly true at SABMiller, where Corporate Affairs Director Pawel Kwiatkowski says the group’s packaging strategy is based on two pillars: its sustainable development priorities and consumer and shopper insights. Sustainability can be and is being approached in different ways, with one being the drive to reduce the weight of glass, metal and PET containers.

“An ongoing trend is the one to lightweight packaging,” says Volker Spiesmacher, Sales and Marketing Director of closure specialist Bericap. “The reasons are different: on the one hand everybody wants to reduce their raw material costs. At the same time, in saving raw materials companies fulfil one of their environmental targets, which is the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and thereby improve the carbon footprint of the package.”

The latest round of development in PET has seen Orangina Schweppes’ 150cl PET bottle slim down by 10.4% to 43g since 2008, with the target weight of 40g by 2011 in its sights. Nestlé Waters has broken the 10g barrier for a 0.5 litre bottle with its new generation Eco-Shape for the North American market. The slimline bottle weighs 9.3g and uses 25% less plastics than its predecessor. In Europe, meanwhile, Nestlé Waters has shaved 20% off the weight of its 150cl bottle.

And lightweighting efforts are going beyond the bottle itself to the label. In the USA, PepsiCo’s sports drink brand Propel has switched to a new 500ml bottle that uses 33% less plastics and 33% less label material than its predecessor.

In alcoholic drinks, lightweighting projects have seen glass bottle weights falling. Anheuser-Busch InBev has reduced the weight of its 284ml Stella Artois bottle for the Western European market by 7%. In Eastern Europe, SABMiller’s Czech business Plzeský Prazdroj has just completed a lightweighting exercise to reduce the average weight of its glass bottles to 0.64g/ml, and in Hungary, Dreher Breweries has changed its refillable bottles to a 15% lighter bottle type and reduced the weight of cans by 2.3% since 2005.

Containers with a conscience

The use of post consumer recycled (PCR) PET content is another means of making soft drinks packaging more sustainable. A few years ago, just a handful of brands were incorporating rPET into containers. Now most major soft drinks companies have an rPET inclusion policy. The Coca-Cola Company, for example, has a target to source 25% of its PET from recycled material by 2015. Today the company uses up to 50% recycled content in individual bottles. Arch rival PepsiCo has pledged to incorporate at least 10% rPET in its soft drinks containers in the USA and expand the use of rPET across key international markets. Orangina Schweppes is using 50% rPET in both its Oasis Thé and Pulco Citronnade bottles.

Some companies are going one step further, seeking to ‘close the recycling loop’ and reduce their carbon footprint by sourcing recycled plastics from their domestic market rather than overseas. For example, in March, Britvic’s spring water brand drench became the first British drinks brand to use UK-sourced PCR plastics in its bottles.

However, supply deficits mean there is a limit to how much recycled plastics manufacturers can get their hands on. Consequently, some beverage producers have been exploring sustainable raw materials that can be sourced more reliably, such as bioplastics. Coca-Cola, for example, has recently developed plantbottle, a PET plastics bottle made from a blend of petrochemical-based materials and up to 30% plant-based, renewable materials. The bottle is 100% recyclable in the existing PET stream. Sustainability might be the overriding factor influencing packaging design, but it is by no means the only one.

“There is an ongoing desire to add value and to differentiate brands through the pack format,” says Steve Howell, Breakthrough Innovations Manager at Rexam Beverage Can.

Broadly speaking, there are two ways in which beverage producers are adding value. One is making packs more functional and the other is making them more aesthetically appealing.

One of the most high profile examples of added functionality is the Ball Resealable End (BRE) which was developed by Ball Packaging Europe in collaboration with Coca-Cola and is being used to energise burn cans in France, The Netherlands and Switzerland.

Aluminium bottles are another resealable option that is being embraced by beverage producers.

“They offer all the benefits of a beverage can - cold to the touch, light and recyclable - and fuse them with the aesthetics of a bottle,” says Mr Howell of Rexam, whose Fusion bottle went into full production in the first quarter of 2010.

Nevertheless, so far the use of alubottles has been confined to premium niche products and limited editions such as Anheuser-Busch InBev's limited edition metal Budweiser bottles, which were produced for the FIFA World Cup.

Another World Cup inspired innovation was the full aperture end or ‘can cup’ which made its debut at the World Cup on the Castle Lager brand from SABMiller’s subsidiary The South African Breweries. “The entire can lid can be removed, turning the can itself into a drinking cup and providing an exciting alternative to traditional cans and glass bottles that are prohibited at stadiums and arenas,” explains Caroline Archer, Marketing Director, Crown Bevcan Europe & Middle East - the company behind the technology.

Like the can cup, most packaging innovations in the beer market aim to enhance the user experience. Diageo’s overhauled Guinness can for the UK market has a wider mouth ‘to deliver a smoother head and a more convenient pour’, and carries it instructions to help achieve the perfect serve by ensuring the correct temperature, time and tilt. Meanwhile, since July 2010, SABMiller’s Polish brand Lech has come in an ‘easy to hold’ can featuring side panels with embossed spots.

Opting for a more unusual closure can create a point of difference. This year, for example, Orangina Schweppes celebrated the 60th birthday of clear lemonade brand La Casera by launching a limited edition bottle with a swing top closure.

Ring pull crown caps are another closure that brand owners are using to give a more premium feel.

“When used wisely as a marketing tool, ring crown caps add considerable value to a brand when compared with traditional crown caps,” says Robert Jeynes, who is responsible for export marketing and sales at ring pull closure manufacturer Finn-Korkki.


Heineken brand Ciuc is using Finn-Korkki ring crown caps to strengthen the position of the brand. Ciuc SABMiller's Polish brand Lech comes in an 'easy to hold' embossed can. Lech Carlsberg chose thermochromic ink for its Somersby Apple Cider in Denmark. Somersby The 'can cup' made its debut at the World Cup on the Castle Lager brand. Castle Lager Rexam says aluminium bottles combine the benefits of a beverage can with the aesthetics of a bottle. Rexam Heineken brand Ariana is using ring crown caps to protect its established market share. Ariana The Ball Resealable End (BRE) is being used to energise burn cans. Burn Heineken brand Ciuc is using ring crown caps to protect its established market share. Ciuc 2 SABMiller has reduced the weight of glass beer bottles in Eastern Europe, including the Russian Bochka brand. Bochka Britvic’s drench was the first British drinks brand to use UK-sourced PCR plastic in its bottles. Drench

Ciuc 2 Ciuc 2
Ciuc Ciuc
Lech Lech
Burn Burn
Bochka Bochka
Drench Drench
Somersby Somersby
Castle Lager Castle Lager
Rexam Rexam
Ariana Ariana


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