Diageo has extended its smart keg-and-dispense system trial for pubs in partnership with Smirnoff, aiming to provide real-time insights and reduce single-use glass ahead of the festive season.
Last year the company launched its first trial of Everpour, its bespoke circular keg-and-dispense system with Smirnoff, in and around Dublin, Ireland. Diageo says it has specifically ‘expanded and evolved’ the trial to help pubs ahead of the festive season, when speed, reliability and stock visibility are particularly important.
In the Everpour system, spirits bottles are automatically refilled as they are put into the dispense unit. The Everpour units are stainless steel kegs designed to last up to 25 years in 5 or 20 litre sizes of Smirnoff vodka, and once the keg is empty, it’s sent back to Diageo, cleaned, refilled and sent back out to participating bars.
The second phase of the trial will initially supply 10 pubs with Everpour units, with a further 15 involved in the New Year. For this trial, Diageo states the keg units have greater technology features to enhance the user experience, such as smart monitoring to allow bartenders to see when the keg is running low; brand protection and quality control features, along with leak and blockage detection and temperature alerts to make sure products are served at the optimum temperature; and each keg has a RFID tag enabling Diageo to track its exact location and status through an app.
Diageo adds that the current projected carbon savings for a scaled post-trial launch of the Everpour unit in Ireland is ‘very encouraging’, as the Lifecycle Analysis (LCA) estimated a reduction of at least 500 single-use 70cl glass bottles per Everpour unit over its lifetime, and a projected packaging carbon footprint savings of up to 83%.
The trial is expected to run until summer 2026, with further trials and wider rollout subject to trial success.
This summer, Diageo revised its environmental targets, now aspiring for 50% recycled content in its packaging by 2030 and net zero emissions by 2050 – but no longer seeking a 10% reduction in packaging weight or 100% renewable energy. Among the company’s reported sustainability initiatives this year is the reduction of the glass bottle weight for various alcohol brands, including its Baileys, Cîroc, and core size Johnnie Walker Gold, Green, and Double Black Label products.
Also in the alcoholic beverages space, Kingsland Drinks and MM Packaging have revealed a fully enclosed, FSC-certified cartonboard format for canned wines and ready-to-drink cocktails, serving as a transit pack and on-shelf solution. Holding either eight or twelve cans, the format features a perforated zip-tear around the middle of the pack, expected to improve ease of use when placing the cans on a shelf.
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