Paper-Based Alcohol Bottles… Cheers To Paper! – Two Sides

As alcohol brands such as Absolut trial paper bottles, we look at the huge growth potential of this highly sustainable packaging.

After Carlsberg and Johnnie Walker, the latest alcohol brand to trial paper bottles is Absolut. As part of a three-month pilot test, the vodka brand will be sold in paper bottles in 22 Tesco stores across Greater Manchester throughout the summer.

Made from 57% paper, the bottles will include a recyclable plastic barrier, with customers able to recycle the packaging as paper through normal household waste. Following trials of the bottle at festivals in the UK and Sweden, this will be the first time such paper bottles will have been sold commercially in-store by a global spirits company.

“This is a step closer towards our vision of a fully bio-based bottle,” said Elin Furelid, Director of Future Packaging at Absolut. “We are exploring packaging that has a completely different value proposition. Paper is tactile, it’s beautiful, it’s authentic, it’s light. That was our starting point, but this is not just an idea on paper.”

A $173bn Market And Counting

While the current market for fibre-based bottles is small, there is huge growth potential. According to a recent report by Smithers, the value of the glass jars and bottles market is expected to reach $40bn by 2026, while plastic bottles are expected to reach $133bn by 2026.¹ Right now, there are a number of possible applications of paper bottles, with the drinks and personal care/cosmetics industries the main targets.

With the public preference for packaging shifting away from single-use plastics and towards paper and card, there’s an increasing desire amongst FMCG and drinks companies for more sustainable packaging for their brands. This led to Carlsberg running the largest trial of paper bottles in June last year, with 8,000 fibre-based bottles distributed in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, the United Kingdom, Poland, Germany and France.

Drinking For The Environment

While the results of the Carlsberg trial are yet to be published, it’s clear there’s a major shift towards fibre-based packaging. With the high recycling rate of paper and the low carbon impact of the paper and card industry, it already has the environmental credentials to help companies achieve their net-zero targets.

According to UK paper bottle company Frugalpac, a recycled paperboard bottle with no chemicals added has a six times lower impact than a glass bottle, and a 33% reduction when compared to a bottle made from 100% recycled PET2. Five times lighter than a glass bottle, the water footprint is also four times lower than glass.²

So the next time you’re in the drinks aisle choosing the ideal accompaniment to a summer barbecue, keep an eye out for the paper bottle. It won’t prevent a hangover but it’ll do the planet some good.