Cutting wine & beer carbon footprints
Petainer, who claim to “offer a wide range of lightweight, sustainable PET packaging solutions”, has been in business for over 35 years, designing and manufacturing “high-quality, cost-efficient products with circularity at their core”. It has manufacturing sites across the world, serving markets in Europe, the Americas and Asia. In Europe, it manufactures at sites in Lidköping, Sweden, and Aš in the Czech Republic, close to the German border. The Swedish site is certified carbon neutral.
2023 is the first time that Petainer has taken a stand at the International Wine Fair in London, held this year at London’s historic Kensington Olympia exhibition hall. It is big enough to host exhibitors from across the world but, at the same time, offers an intimate experience, where it is easy to visit the whole exhibition in a day. It was good timing because the theme of sustainability ran through the exhibition, across panel discussions and a wide range of stands from all over the world.
We met: Petainer
Craig Pope, European Commercial Director; Jake Mortiboys, Sales Manager, Western Europe
Petainer was acquired in 2022 by Ara Partners, a Private Equity firm totally focused on investing in CO2 reducing Companies. It operates from offices in Houston, Texas, USA, and Dublin, Ireland.
Large kegs, low carbon
“Ara Partners specialises in decarbonisation investments and sees Petainer as one of the leaders in our industry, with the potential to scale up and take our solutions around the world,” said Craig Pope, Petainer European Commercial Director. “We have worked to create a diverse portfolio, with each product challenging traditional packaging formats and supporting decarbonisation. Whether it’s replacing heavy steel kegs with our lightweight PET keg solutions, replacing heavy glass in the beverage reuse market with RefPET, or in large format water replacing 5 Gallon polycarbonate bottles with our BPA free PET option, Petainer has a solution.” Petainer knows its market and its position very well and focuses on the niches where it is strong.
“The alcohol sector is one of the markets where we have been expanding our product offering and we’re pleased to bring our PET wine bottle to the market. Glass bottles are carbon intensive, heavy and expensive to ship – all problems we can resolve using PET material. The trend for decarbonisation is seen at a brand level, but retailers are also starting to lead the way. For example, Systembolaget, Sweden’s state alcohol monopoly, specifies PET as a climate-friendly packaging choice for wine and spirits.”
Lighter bottles, reduced costs
The Petainer stand featured a few examples of the new PET wine bottles. “We have started in the wine market with two Bordeaux sizes: 1 l and 750 ml, and we offer a Burgundy 750 ml as well, each in green or clear PET,” he said.
Craig explained further about the new range. “The wine industry is very much challenged by energy and transportation costs for glass and it is actively looking for alternative packaging formats to reduce its carbon footprint.” Studies show that a glass bottle represents the largest share – approximately 50% – of carbon emitted when making wine, he explained.
“Glass bottle producers are targeting a reduction in weight from 550 g to 420 g by 2027, so the issue will prevail in the glass market. Our wine bottles weigh 49 g, without the closure and label. Being 90% lighter than glass and using much less energy to produce, PET wine bottles offer the potential for huge savings across the supply chain. Because it is lightweight, more wine can be transported in one journey, reducing costs and carbon emissions, along with taking up less warehouse space”.
The PET wine bottles Craig and Jake had on the Petainer stand were not the same as previous offers from other manufacturers, which felt firm and were made of composite materials. These felt more like heavier than usual carbonated soft drinks (CSD) bottles.
“Product protection is essential, we have worked extensively with the Geisenheim University in Germany to predict the sensory quality and shelf life of wine with different barrier options. Our PET bottles are available with monolayer barrier protection for six months shelf life or multilayer barrier protection for 18 months,” said Craig.
“Wine producers are grappling with recent cost increases and are more open to look at new ways to market their products and appeal to consumers. We see PET bottles as part of the packaging mix for wine, giving customers a familiar shape and look, and purchasing a 750 ml bottle that they aren’t planning to lay down. For value and standard price point wines, which are designed to be enjoyed young, it makes sense for both the producer and consumers to use PET. For the producer, PET is financially attractive compared to other alternative packaging formats as it can run on their existing filling equipment, and for the consumer it gives them flexibility to take a PET bottle where glass can’t go. The carbon credentials of wine in PET bottles can be shared by brands at the point of purchase against glass providing consumers with an informed choice,” said Craig.
Single use large kegs: an environmentally friendly solution?
Petainer is very well known globally for its beer kegs. The 20 l example on its stand for wine on tap, which Craig and Jake are clearly proud of, is a one-way container, which prompted the question: how is “single use” environmentally friendly?
“You have to look at the carbon footprint of draught beverages from cradle to gate,” Craig replied. “In the case of beer kegs, we focus on two main markets: export and smaller, craft brewers. Smaller scale operators prefer not to invest in steel kegs as they grow their business. We make it possible for craft brewers to enter new markets without heavy outlay on kegs, transport and cleaning infrastructure. For export, PET is light weight – nowhere near as heavy as steel and you can transport your beverage anywhere in the world. If you imagine the volume of beer being exported from Europe in steel kegs, the cost of lost kegs, of collecting them, returning, and washing, some export routes can be very inefficient making one way kegs the clear choice. This gives brewers the opportunity to access global markets without the need to manage costly return logistics.
We can model the carbon footprint of our kegs vs steel to demonstrate that our kegs really are the climate smart option.” Whilst our Hybrid keg is non-returnable, the chimes at the top and bottom, are made with 100% recycled polypropylene which can be easily removed from the keg and reused. We are seeing a growing number of brewers reusing these components to save cost and reduce their carbon footprint.
“The Hybrid keg can be conveyed and filled on steel kegs lines so there is real opportunity for brewers to switch between steel and PET to access new draught markets and save a lot on operating costs. Steel keg losses can be as high as 10 to 15% in some cases,” Jake Mortiboys added.
The Hybrid keg can be collected and disassembled for recycling, post use. The snap fit nature of the chime components ensures it’s easy to separate these components and reduce the volume of waste. Bottle to bottle recycling is not yet possible but a closed loop solution for PET kegs is clearly on the horizon. Petainer is working with a major brewing brand to use clear 20 l kegs packed inside a cardboard outer box, which is itself totally recyclable and will give the required UV & light protection.
Photo: Jake Mortiboys (left) and Craig Pope presenting the Petainer PET keg and PET wine bottle
