ALDI Announcement Could Provide Catalyst for Major Move to Beer in PET

Beer drinkers in Germany may soon have more opportunities to purchase beer in PET than any other European country. Aldi in Germany recently confirmed to Wirtschafts Woche that due to the new deposit law, it no longer intends to sell beer in cans. This allows the giant discount chain operator to save costs related to the return of cans and win time for the development of a system for returnable packaging. Instead of cans, Aldi is planning to offer its customers beer in PET bottles, a decision which, says Amcor PET Packaging Europe/Asia, is indicative of a growing trend in the drinks market. Amcor (formerly Schmalbach-Lubeca), world market leader in PET drinks packaging, has invested substantially in recent years in developing PET bottles for beer that can compete successfully with any other form of packaging in terms of both product and package performance. Several brewers have already responded to these initiatives. “We have always paid close attention to the demands of our customers for convenient packaging. We are seeing increasing interest in our ability to provide our products in PET,” states Andreas Rost, Chief Executive Officer, Holsten Breweries. While beer can be packed in either standard or barrier PET, Amcor believes that barrier solutions, such as its own AmGuard™ multi-layer bottles, will be key to PET’s adoption among brewers across Europe. (AmGuard™ refers to Amcor’s triple-layer bottles, which can incorporate an active or passive barrier.) Beer is a very sensitive beverage with a high level of carbon dioxide. Leakage due to porous packaging leads to “flatness”. Also taste distortion results if oxygen seeps in. Since PET is more porous than glass or aluminium, beer filled in standard PET bottles will have very limited shelf life. In contrast, beer in barrier PET packaging can achieve shelf life of more than six months. “We have always been confident that PET is poised to achieve wholesale market penetration for beer packaging,” says Phil Gunning, Vice President Sales and Marketing, Amcor PET Packaging Europe/Asia. “The only issue to be resolved has been reconciling the economics of PET versus a glass or can equivalent. This can be achieved with a serious volume commitment and we believe Aldi’s announcement will go a long way to making this happen.” Since 1997, Amcor has offered barrier PET solutions for beer. AmGuard™ bottles for beer incorporate Amcor’s pioneering Bind-Ox™ technology to provide shelf life of six months, nine months and more for the product. Whereas normal barrier technology impedes oxygen entry, Bind-Ox™ active barrier technology actually traps the oxygen and binds it into the bottle wall, thus preventing it from reaching the beer. Tests of AmGuard™ PET bottles using Bind-Ox™ technology have shown that even after 12 months, the bottle continues to prevent oxygen ingress. PET’s positive environmental profile is also a major factor in increased retailer interest in PET beer packaging, believes Amcor. For example, Amcor multi-layer bottles can contain up to 50% recycled material if requested by customers, thus helping to avoid the new Eco-Tax in Belgium, which is planned to come into effect on 20th March 2003. PET’s design flexibility, enabling manufacturers to create custom designs to increase brand awareness and attract younger consumers to beer, is another important advantage. There are currently more than 20 beer brands that have been launched in multi-layer PET on the European market. Over half of these are in AmGuard™ bottles, including Karlsberg, Holsten and Tucher in Germany. Today, Amcor offers unrivalled production capacity for multi-layer PET beer bottles in Europe. Amcor PET Packaging is the No. 1 producer of PET packaging in the world with 51 plants operating in 20 countries, two of which are bottle-to-bottle recycling plants, as well as 16 facilities on-site with customers in six countries, plus three R&D Centres. The group produces PET preforms and bottles for soft drinks, water, juice, milk, hot-fill beverages, alcoholic beverages, food and non-food applications.