PETpla.net Insider 03 / 2012

PET bottles 44 PET planet insider Vol. 13 No. 03/12 www.petpla.net PET bottle and low-temperature sleeve for organic vodka brand Galatea, a Swedish beer and liquor exporter, is best known for its ‘Good Ol’ Sailor’ brand beer, which is sold across Europe, North America and the Caribbean. It has recently entered the vodka market for the first time, launch- ing the product with a strong organic emphasis. The spirit is distilled from organic Swedish barley and the company has selected a recyclable PET 70cl bottle as the appropriate packaging, as its environ- mental footprint is less than that of glass. Galatea selected UK-based company CCL Label Decorative Sleeves, which is an established manufacturer of shrink sleeves for a range of market sectors, from food and beverage to cosmetic and household products. Its brief was to develop and deliver an eye-catching packaging treatment. The label features an original design by a leading Swedish tattooist, who created a ‘sailor’ theme with mermaids, roses and skulls, and a large sailing ship on the front. The label is a shrink-sleeve, provid- ing an all-round visual projection. A particular challenge for CCL was to source a shrink-sleeve wrapping that would not damage the PET bottle, so a low-temperature solution was essential. CCL selected Eastman Embrace, a copolyester resin for shrink films from Eastman Chemical Company, which is designed to achieve a high level of shrinkage on the product but with a minimal shrink force. Another key param- eter was the need for a high level of print definition, which would display the tattoo images on the shrink film to best effect. The eye-catching shrink sleeve, with its sailor tattoo and nautical theme, cover the bottle from neck to base. The entire packaging solution, with 100% recyclable PET, ena- bled Galatea to achieve its objectives in terms of a sustain- able product. ‘Good Ol’ Sailor’ vodka, in its 70cl PET bottle, will be supplied to all 410 shops of Systembolaget, Sweden’s state-owned monopoly alcohol retailer. www.galatea.se www.ccl-lable.com/decorativesleeves Cordially yours Under the brand name “Yo“ Eckes-Granini Austria GmbH of St. Florian in Austria is marketing 700 ml elderflower cordial, without any artificial colouring and with no chemical preservatives, in a slim, transparent PET bottle with a red hinged lid. The hinged lid is fitted with a pouring spout and before opening for the first time a sealing membrane needs to be removed. www.yo-fruchtsirup.at Bio-honey 350g cold-pressed forest honey from New Zealand or Brazil, which originates from controlled ecology agricul- ture, is being marketed by Bio-Zentrale GmbH from the Ulbering region of Germany in a transparent PET inverted bottle with gold coloured closure featuring a self- sealing silicon valve. When the lid is opened for the first time a pre-perforated label is destroyed and it is easy to tell it has been opened. www.biozentrale.de Agave nectar In the wake of the Stevia licence, users are currently turning their attention to alterna- tives to sugar. One possibility is the sunshine alternative to sugar – agave nectar, or at least this how the message from the manufacturer goes. Messrs. CoSa Naturprodukte GmbH, based in Freiburg, Germany, is marketing 250ml agave syrup cultivated organi- cally under the ”whole earth” logo in an upside-down PET bottle with an automatic clo- sure silicone valve. A label stretched over the lid serves as a tamper-evident safeguard. www.whole-earth.de