The contract, signed at the recent London International Wine Festival, will see independent wine supplier Kingsland Wines and Spirits (2010 sales c. £150m) filling GreenBottles (which consist of a paper outer layer and a thin plastic liner) with various wines.
The company has been in talks with supermarkets and wine producers since 2011, but yesterday a GreenBottle spokesperson confirmed to BeverageDaily.com: “A bottle of wine should be on (supermarket) shelves by the end of the year.”
“Revolutionary” core molding technology.
GreenBottle said its bottle (pictured below) weighs around 60g compared to 400g+ for the glass equivalent, and offers a lower carbon footprint and lower transport costs; Kingsland itself was in the news in 2010 for developing the world's lightest screw-cap glass wine bottle at just 300g.
Inventor and company founder Martin Myerscough (pictured right) said: “Kingsland is an ideal partner, as they are not only the UK's leading wine supplier, but are also committed to sustainability.
“We're really looking forward to seeing GreenBottles wines in both the UK and in other countries over the next few months, so watch this space.”
Myerskopf has developed a “revolutionary pulp molding technology” that it says is innovative, proprietary and better for the environment than current packaging.
GreenBottle said the flexible molding technology allowed for an impressive shelf appearance, while the paper bottles allowed for the option of printing, something not currently possible on bottles.
“It is already attracting global interest in the beverage and detergent industries, and GreenBottle expects to begin moving into these categories, including potential sales in overseas markets later this year,” the company added.
The packaging will be produced at GreenBottle's new manufacturing plant in St Helens (near Liverpool), and will serve Kingsland, which is based near Irlam, Manchester.
The paper wine bottle was more convenient for consumers to use and dispose of (ruling out trips to glass recycling centres), as it could be shredded and recycled with newspaper, or even composted, GreenBottle claimed.
Better insulation than glass?
The company said GreenBottles also provide better insulation than glass, meaning they will stay cooler for longer when sitting at the table, and are therefore well-suited for summer picnics and barbecues.
GreenBottle previously invented the world's first paper milk bottle, which it claims is price-equivalent to plastic options; This has been sold in Asda stores across southwest England since last year.
Bottle sales tripled (compared to standard bottles) over a six-month trial, according to GreenBottle, with an 80% consumer preference rate over plastic bottles and healthy awareness of the sustainability benefits.
The company cited Waste and Resources Action Program (WRAP) statistics showing that the UK buys around 1.2 billion glass bottles a year (generating associated CO2 emissions during transport), contributing 500,000 tonnes of waste to the UK stream.
