PETpla.net Insider 10 / 2020

BOTTLING / FILLING PETplanet Insider Vol. 21 No. 10/20 www.petpla.net 42 Interview with Coca-Cola Amatil June 8, 2020 We met: David Chalmers, Operations Manager, PSD Ideas and initiatives from Down Under Softdrinks with less sugar in bottles made from rPET by Kay Barton In 2018, we visited the Coca-Cola Amatil (Amatil) plant in Eastern Creek, near Sydney, on Australia’s East Coast and discussed the company’s operations and plans, including its newly-developed SyLon cap (see PETplanet Insider 05/18 and 10/18). A lot has happened in the two years since then, especially global developments in ‘better-for-you’ drinks, sustainability and environmental issues and, of course, Covid-19. Back in 2018 we interviewed David Chalmers, Operations Manager of the Packaging Services Department (PSD) at Amatil and were able to speak to again this year as part of our Road Show. Amatil’s financial performance in 2019 was positive, with EBIT (earn- ings before interest and tax) up 0.8% to AU$ 639.3 million (US$ 444.8 million). Its Australian Beverages business accounted for 57.7% of the total, with the balance generated by operations in New Zealand & Fiji, and Indonesia & Papua New Guinea (PT Coca-Cola Bottling Indonesia, jointly owned with The Coca-Cola Company Ltd). Market uncertainty regarding the duration and impact of the Covid-19 pandemic meant that the company decided to withdraw forward-looking market guidance in March 2020. Two sustainability issues in par- ticular continue to be the focus of Amatil’s attentions going forward: the use of recycled material in PET bot- tles and the reduction of drinks’ sugar content. Sugar reduction initiatives Amatil is targeting a reduction in sugar content of 10%/100ml in its non-alcoholic beverage portfolio in Australia and New Zealand by 2020 and is aligned with industry peers in Australia to achieve a 20% reduction by 2025. By 2019, the company had reduced sugar content (measured in g/100ml) by 8.8% in Australia, 5.3% in New Zealand and 13.5% in Indonesia. Twenty-five beverage products have been reformulated in Australia since 2015, along with eight in New Zealand. Mr Chalmers gives one example: “Last September, we intro- duced a new version of our popu- lar Sprite carbonated soft drink that contained 40% less sugar than the original, to cite just one example,” he said. “This sugar-reduced product now contains 4.9 g/100ml, compared to the previous 8.6 g, without compro- mising on taste”. While there is a definite trend in the industry towards overtly ‘healthy’ ready-to-drink beverages, Coca-Cola proved Amatil’s most popular brand in 2019, particularly during the second Tour Sponsors: David Chalmers in front of a Husky HyCap IMM equipped with a closure mould from Z-Moulds Project Pristine new Orbis bin erector