Yahoo Finance Diageo serves up Johnnie Walker in paper bottles
Whisky lovers will soon be able to enjoy a dram poured from a paper bottle as Diageo prepares to launch the world’s first spirits bottle made entirely of sustainably sourced wood.
The drinks giant will start selling its whisky brand Johnnie Walker in the plastic-free bottle, which is expected to be fully recyclable, early next year.
Diageo, which owns brands including Guinness and Smirnoff, has created the bottle by joining forces with venture management firm Pilot Lite, to create a new sustainable packaging technology company, Pulpex Limited.
The new venture will give consumer goods groups access to the paper-based packaging, with Unilever and Pepsico already signed up to the consortium. Both plan to start selling products in paper bottles next year.
Ewan Andrew, chief sustainability officer at Diageo, said that by involving other companies it hoped to make the packaging more commercially viable so it could compete with glass and other forms of packaging.
“If you’re really going to have an impact then bringing others on board and taking this consortium-type approach can really give us a great scale and help to build this as a solution for the industry and many other industries,” he said.
In a similar move, British firm Frugalpac developed a paper wine bottle that it claimed was six times better for the environment.
Unlike Frugalpac’s design, which comes with a plastic liner that can be removed so the bottle can be put in household recycling, the inside of Diageo’s bottle will be coated with a resin to contain the liquid.
“We’re not always in control of what happens through the recycling process but if it does end up outside of that in the natural environment we know that is biodegradable and it will break down,” Mr Andrew added.
Diageo said the new packaging will be tested in different markets and is expected to be sold primarily in supermarkets and other retail outlets rathers than bars and restaurants.
Mr Andrew admitted that the bottle would not provide the same shelf life for whisky as glass but said it was not an issue that concerned the company.
