Aldi and Packamama have produced ‘flat’ wine bottles made entirely from recycled PET, said to be almost seven times lighter than glass alternatives and streamline both transportation and storage.
Released yesterday in line with Global Recycling Day, the own-brand bottles are thought to be the first of their kind in the UK. They are said to weigh 63g and remove 42 tonnes of bottle weight for their first launch.
For retailers, the compact design is set to allow 30% more bottles to be loaded onto pallets for transportation. Compared to traditional round bottles, the flat alternatives aim to take 30% of lorries off the road and lead to environmental benefits without reducing the amount of wine in a pack.
Consumers, meanwhile, are expected to benefit from the lighter weight when carrying the products around the store and back to their homes. Their flat shape is set to enable easier stacking and organization in storage.
Additionally, since the bottles are made of recycled PET, they are designed to be stronger than glass and ‘completely shatterproof’.
Julie Ashfield, managing director of Buying at Aldi UK, says: “We know shoppers are looking for greener, more sustainable products and our aim is to continue to deliver this, whilst offering great value and enhanced functionality. We’re pleased to be taking the next step in expanding our recyclable, eco-friendly range.”
The bottles were developed alongside London-based packaging company Packamama; the company aspires to combat global warming with new designs for the drinks industry.
“We are honoured to partner with Aldi, a true pioneer in the grocery sector, as we both lead the way in sustainable wine packaging,” adds Santiago Navarro, CEO & founder of Packamama. “This collaboration delivers the much-loved Chapter & Verse in our innovative eco-flat bottles to customers, offering the perfect blend of quality, value, and sustainability.”
The new bottles will apply to Aldi’s Chapter & Verse Shiraz and Chapter & Verse Chardonnay products and are available across the UK, as well as through Click & Collect.
Aldi also launched a recyclable PET bottle for its Chassaux et Fils Méditerranée Rosé yesterday. It claims to be eight times lighter than the average 75cl glass bottle and to help remove 18.15 tonnes of bottle weight from this launch alone.
The retailer aims to lower the average bottle weight of all its still wine products by 8% and expects to complete the process by 2025.
All the way back in 2020, Garçon Wines and Accolade Wines’ Banrock Station brand came together to develop a flat bottle made from 100% recycled PET. Reportedly, the 75cl bottles required 75% less energy to produce and emitted 79% less CO2 than virgin PET.
Accolade Wines went on to work with Packamama and Taylors Wines to launch a similar bottle – made from 100% recycled and recyclable PET with a flatter profile that reportedly allows twice as many bottles to fit in a standard wine case – in 2022.
In other beverage news, Berry has provided NEUE Water with a flat rPET bottle for its luxury artesian mineral water. Its ergonomic shape is designed to fit into pockets, bags, and seatback storage on public transport and maintain enough strength for refill and reuse.
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