Diageo brand Johnnie Walker has revealed its limited edition Blue Label Ultra bottle, said to be the brand’s lightest 70cl Scotch whisky glass bottle and - to the best of the brand’s knowledge - the world’s lightest.
At 180g without the closure, Diageo says the new bottle was created by adopting a ‘test-and-learn’ model, where the whisky brand worked with external glass makers to rethink how the bottle was designed, made and transported. Apparently, the glass was hand-blown, and the teardrop shape meant reforming the square Johnnie Walker bottle for the first time.
As part of the Diageo Spirit of Progress action plan, Johnnie Walker aims to reduce the weight of glass used in its packaging, also hoping to reduce the amount of carbon emissions associated with packaging. Citing a study by British Glass, the company says actual savings would be project and product dependent, but ‘independent studies show that, all else equal, for every gram of glass reduced that means over half a gram less carbon emissions in production’.
Diageo says the technology is not yet available to launch bottles of this weight at scale - however, Johnnie Walker has been granted a UK patent, and a license to the patent will be offered on a royalty-free basis to any interested parties, aiming to encourage further progress in the industry. Reportedly, 888 bottles of the new design will be produced and a limited number released for sale in 2025 in selected markets worldwide, with an RRP of £1000.
Global design director at Diageo, Jeremy Lindley, commented: “Johnnie Walker Blue Label Ultra was born out of an ideation session looking at the future of luxury. With other categories moving towards lightweight – such as eyewear and high-performance cycling – we questioned whether luxury spirits could follow suit.
“The technical challenges that lightweighting presents led us to incorporate various design and production specifications that we could not have envisaged at the start of our journey; from the requirement of a tear drop shape to the addition of a protective cage to allow for a round base, and the hand-making and filling of each individual bottle to avoid damages in production. We hope that our discoveries will have a positive impact within the wider industry and help discover new possibilities for lighter, lower carbon packaging alternatives.”
In July, we heard from head of Diageo Sustainable Solutions John Cant and president and CEO of Exxergy, Thomas Sauer, about the companies’ collaboration to create a new glass coating that enables light-weighting while maintaining the quality and strength of reusable glass containers. The solution is said to have the potential to reduce glass emissions by up to 30%.
The same month, Diageo and ecoSPIRITS announced a global agreement to distribute Gordon’s gin, Captain Morgan rum, and Smirnoff vodka in reusable packaging at bars, hotels, and restaurants via the ‘lower carbon, lower waste’ ecoTOTE technology. The agreement is set to offer a ‘flexible framework’ in which Diageo can pilot and scale circular packaging in 18 markets within the space of three years.
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