Propak debut for world-first PET sparkling wine bottle from Indorama, SIPA
THE world’s first monolayer PET sparkling wine bottle drew interest at Propak. In a collaboration by Indorama Ventures of Thailand and SIPA, a leading PET packaging technology specialist, samples of the new container were displayed on the stands of Manuchar group of Belgium and SIPA at the Johannesburg show in March.
Manuchar is the supplier of the Indorama PET range and Patrick Amrhein of Indorama, who was at the show, is heading up the project in South Africa. Interest has been expressed by a number of the SA sparkling wine estates and people in the wine industry in South Africa.
The PET solution provides brands with a fully recyclable option that maximizes logistics efficiencies, minimizes handling risks, runs on existing glass-filling lines and has a lower carbon footprint.
Developed and designed by SIPA’s Packaging Development Team and made from Indorama Venture’s original bottle resin and OxyClear® barrier, the patented bottle is an improved alternative to traditional glass bottles. The undertaking was partly in response to a glass shortage faced by the European wine industry after 2020 due to supply chain, energy and raw material challenges.
The new bottle gives the same look, functionality and feeling as a traditional glass sparkling wine bottle but is significantly lighter. A key SIPA innovation is the design of the bottleneck to make it look like the glass version, allowing it to accept the classical mushroom-shaped cork with metal cage closure. The base also matches the original glass version, while the bottle has a top-load resistance of 350kg.
At just 90g, the new PET sparkling wine bottle is about 80% lighter than a traditional glass bottle and is almost unbreakable. The optimal weight allows up to 33% more bottles per truck, and its shatter-proof properties help improve mobility logistics. These advantages offer wine brands opportunities in new channels like e-commerce and on-board transport as well as new consumption occasions at festivals and events.
Tests of the barrier material conducted at the German Institute of Geisenheim showed that OxyClear® PET Wine bottles offer the same benefits and functionality as glass after 24 months in storage at 15°C.
The new PET bottle comes with strong sustainability credentials to match consumer demands. It is fully recyclable in regular recycling streams, while PET on average emits less than half of the level of greenhouse gases (GHG) of glass bottles. This development is an important demonstration of how PET’s flexible, safe and lightweight properties are driving sustainable growth in packaging as the most recycled plastic in the world.