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Johnnie Walker whisky to be sold in paper bottles
Posted: 17:24 Mon 13 Jul 2020
by jdaw1
BBC:
Johnnie Walker whisky to be sold in paper bottlesJohnnie Walker, the whisky which traces its roots back 200 years, will soon be available in paper bottles.
Diageo, the drinks giant that owns the brand, said it plans to run a trial of the new environmentally-friendly packaging from next year.
While most Johnnie Walker is sold in glass bottles, the firm is looking for ways of using less plastic across its brands.
Making bottles from glass also consumes energy and creates carbon emissions.
Diageo's paper whisky bottle, which will be trialled in spring 2021, will be made from wood pulp and will be fully recyclable, the company said.
The idea is that customers would be able to drop them straight into the recycling.
To make the bottles, Diageo will co-launch a firm called Pulpex, which will also produce packaging for the likes of Unilever and PepsiCo.
Drinks companies have been developing paper bottles to try to cut down on pollution and make products more sustainable.
Carlsberg in the process of developing a paper beer bottle.
UK firm Frugalpac produces paper wine bottles which it says are made from recycled paper with a "food grade liner".
However, drinks giant Coca-Cola in January said it would not ditch single-use plastic bottles because consumers still want them.
Not suitable for Vintage Port. Please, just not suitable.
Re: Johnnie Walker whisky to be sold in paper bottles
Posted: 17:41 Mon 13 Jul 2020
by JacobH
I bet this is really aimed at the nightclub market where there is always a tension between a desire to offer bottle service and a desire not to have too much glass floating around a club.
Re: Johnnie Walker whisky to be sold in paper bottles
Posted: 21:12 Mon 13 Jul 2020
by DRT
JacobH wrote: ↑17:41 Mon 13 Jul 2020
I bet this is really aimed at the nightclub market where there is always a tension between a desire to offer bottle service and a desire not to have too much glass floating around a club.
I think easier recycling and reduced shipping weights are more likely target benefits. Can't say I have ever seen anyone walking around a nightclub with a bottle of whisky, but it's been a while since I was in a nightclub
Re: Johnnie Walker whisky to be sold in paper bottles
Posted: 22:43 Mon 13 Jul 2020
by JacobH
DRT wrote: ↑21:12 Mon 13 Jul 2020I think easier recycling and reduced shipping weights are more likely target benefits. Can't say I have ever seen anyone walking around a nightclub with a bottle of whisky, but it's been a while since I was in a nightclub
For the record, do you mean “Can’t say I have ever seen” or “Can’t say I ever remember seeing”?
I am probably being unduly cynical but glass-free packaging for night-clubs is certainly a thing: the nice chap at our local vineyard* said that they were thinking of bottling their next vintage of English sparkling wine in plastic “decanters” for exactly this purpose.
[* and yes, I still can’t quite believe that I am writing that whilst still living in England!]
Re: Johnnie Walker whisky to be sold in paper bottles
Posted: 01:57 Tue 14 Jul 2020
by Andy Velebil
DRT wrote: ↑21:12 Mon 13 Jul 2020
I think easier recycling and reduced shipping weights are more likely target benefits. Can't say I have ever seen anyone walking around a nightclub with a bottle of whisky, but it's been a while since I was in a nightclub
I certainly think this is one big aspect of it. The costs of glass bottle production, shipping and then reshipping full bottles adds up. If a company can reduce that, the savings over time on that many bottles would be a lot.
It also makes it easier to transport around. So a consumer doesn't need to carry around a heavy full glass bottle, worry about it breaking, then an empty glass bottle back home. Granted not being a big whiskey drinker I'm not sure how many people lug a full bottle of Whisky to the park for a picnic lunch.
Re: Johnnie Walker whisky to be sold in paper bottles
Posted: 07:56 Tue 14 Jul 2020
by g-man
Andy Velebil wrote: ↑01:57 Tue 14 Jul 2020
DRT wrote: ↑21:12 Mon 13 Jul 2020
I think easier recycling and reduced shipping weights are more likely target benefits. Can't say I have ever seen anyone walking around a nightclub with a bottle of whisky, but it's been a while since I was in a nightclub
I certainly think this is one big aspect of it. The costs of glass bottle production, shipping and then reshipping full bottles adds up. If a company can reduce that, the savings over time on that many bottles would be a lot.
It also makes it easier to transport around. So a consumer doesn't need to carry around a heavy full glass bottle, worry about it breaking, then an empty glass bottle back home. Granted not being a big whiskey drinker I'm not sure how many people lug a full bottle of Whisky to the park for a picnic lunch.
I will conveniently place it in my prechilled thermal water bottle to be enjoyed at the right temperature at said picnic.
Re: Johnnie Walker whisky to be sold in paper bottles
Posted: 08:58 Tue 14 Jul 2020
by Alex Bridgeman
I've got a great idea for packaging. Why not use large wooden bottles which can be returned, reused and refilled once emptied? We'd need to come up with a name for them — barrels, perhaps, or hogsheads for half barrel size.
Or for the person who wants a smaller container, we could put a food grade liner inside a lightweight cardboard box and call it a "box of wine".
Perhaps I'm just cynical, but I suspect it will be many, many years before the IVDP agrees to allow Port shippers to bottle their products in anything other than glass. But I'm sure someone, somewhere will fail to spot the potential problem of cellaring a compostable bottle in a damp UK cellar.