After the champagne house Ruinart and its case entirely made of cellulose fibres the British sustainable packaging company Frugalpac has created a bottle for wines and spirits made of recycled paper.
This 75 cl bottle, called Frugal, is made of 94% recycled cardboard and a plastic liner. Frugal, whose cost would be comparable to a labelled glass bottle, is presented as a more environmentally friendly alternative to glass and plastic containers.
84% smaller carbon footprint than a glass bottle
According to an Intertek life cycle analysis, Frugal has a carbon footprint up to six times (84%) smaller than a glass bottle and more than one-third less than one made from recycled plastic.
It also requires less water than its glass equivalent. And it uses up to 77% less plastic than its plastic counterpart.
This bottle is also lighter than a classic bottle, weighing only 83 g, i.e. five times less.
And it would be easy to recycle. Frugalpac explains that the consumer will only need to separate the plastic part from the paper before putting both into the recycling bins. Frugalpac also says that the bottle can be put whole in the paper recycling bin: "The plastic liner will be easily separated in the paper repulping process." .
"In addition to the superior environmental benefits, it's unlike any other bottle." praises Frugalpac's managing director, Malcolm Waugh. And in addition to its differentiation in terms of material, the Frugal bottle also allows for full-surface printing.
Malcolm Waugh also explains: "Frugalpac's business model is to supply Frugal bottle machines to wine producers or packaging companies to manufacture the bottles on their site, further reducing carbon emissions. Materials can be purchased locally via cardboard printers to give maximum design freedom and the best commercial offer."
An Italian vineyard, Frugal's first customer
This new bottle now packages one of the wines of the Italian Cantina Goccia vineyard. Ceri Parke, the manager of Cantina Goccia, says: "When some of our best hotel guests saw samples of our paper wine bottle, they immediately thought that this type of bottle would be very well received in the room. The launch of the Frugal bottle is a big step forward in terms of sustainability without compromising the quality of the wine."
He goes on to say: "For us, the Frugal bottle is a much more sustainable form of packaging for an industry in search of innovation. It will help us decarbonize the beverage industry."
A similar project already launched in 2013 and quickly back in the box
Frugalpac is not the first company to launch the paper wine bottle. Another English company, Greenbottle, had taken up the idea. It had, in particular, marketed its product called Paper Boy, with the Truett-Hurst wine group, on the Californian market in 2013. But two years later, Truett-Hurst had stopped everything. Greenbottle had gone bankrupt and Truett-Hurst had not found an American manufacturer. He had also received complaints about the quality of the wine, which he had disputed.
