“Cocoguard Shots” come in 100% rPET
Wild & Coco is a Prague-based start-up specialised in coconut products like yogurts, coconut water and the so-called “Cocofirs”. With Cocofirs, the brand offers a lactose-free and vegan alternative with organic coconuts from sustainable cultivation. The coconut all-rounders are now also available as “Cocoguard Shot” in a compressed shot, either pure or with a hint of mango or cocoa – and packaged safely, lightly and sustainably in a 100 per cent rPET bottle from Alpla.
The Cocoguard Shot fits 120 ml of coconut drink. Six of these make up one pack. With the bottle made from recycled PET material, Wild & Coco intends to minimise energy and CO2 consumption during packaging, to replace glass and aluminium with lightweight and shatterproof material and thus create a convenient and transportable solution for everyday use. Like the bottle, the tethered cap is also made of plastic.
Marek Grueber, Sales Manager at Alpla in Bystřice, talks about the successful replace project: “Switching from glass to plastic and halving the volume from 250 ml (glass) to 120 ml (PET) also reduced the weight from 145 g to 13.5 g. We obtain most of the material from our own plants at ALPLArecycling.”
The journey from the initial idea to the market launch of the project took about a year. This timeline included various stages such as product development at Wild & Coco, designing the label, testing the packaging, and acquiring a new filling line.
A key achievement of the project is the significant reduction in carbon emissions achieved by opting for a pure plastic packaging solution instead of the traditional glass-metal cap combination. The carbon footprint of the new 120 ml bottle, made entirely of rPET with a plastic cap, is 44 g of CO₂ equivalent (CO₂e). In comparison, a glass bottle twice the size with a metal cap emits 215 g, resulting in a remarkable 80 per cent reduction in emissions per bottle.
During the development phase, Alpla and Wild & Coco faced several challenges. One of the main hurdles was identifying a bottle design that suited the viscous consistency of the Cocofir filling, including the right shape, size, and neck finish. For the initial launch, the companies opted for a standard bottle, with the possibility of introducing a custom design in the future.
