Amcor unveils PET spirit bottles for new US Tax & Trade Bureau container sizes

15 Jul 2022 --- Amcor Rigid Packaging is introducing samples of spirits bottles made of recyclable PET that meet the newly-approved US Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) sizes. The six new bottles were developed to maximize ease of use in customer production and shipping. 

Each newly designed bottle subscribes to an axiom of similarity, maintaining a common set of dimensions – including height, depth, width, diameters, and shared geometry – with existing Amcor stock options.

The supplier says this development initiative is the first product line family in the marketplace to align sizing across bottles with different capacities, providing customers with the freedom and flexibility to explore new markets while gauging consumer interest.

“Amcor created these new sizes to help provide flexibility for brands,” says Jonathan Jarman, marketing manager for spirits and wine at Amcor. “New sizes create new opportunities, and through these new bottles, we are offering our customers a smooth, seamless transition to these newly-approved sizes with the freedom to introduce these containers without additional investment in parts or equipment.”Amcor says this product line family is the first on the market to align sizing across bottles with different capacities (Image credit: Amcor).

Sizes available for sampling include:

• 700 mL: This size comes in both round and traveler options. The traveler matches the width and depth of Amcor’s existing traveler 750 mL stock bottle. The round 700 mL matches the diameter of Amcor’s 750 mL stock and is slightly shorter.
• 720 mL: This size comes in both round and traveler options as well. The traveler matches the width and depth of Amcor’s traveler 750 mL stock. The 720 mL round matches the diameter of Amcor’s round 750 mL, just slightly shorter.
• 900 mL: This round bottle matches the diameter of Amcor’s existing slender 1 L stock bottle just slightly shorter.
• 1.8 L: This round bottle matches the height and diameter of Amcor’s existing ring force of 1.75 L.

“When the TTB approved these expanded size options, we worked quickly to ensure our customers had early access to samples of these new sizes to help them gain a competitive advantage,” says Terry Patcheak, VP of R&D and advanced engineering at Amcor Rigid Packaging.

“A change in the TTB sizes offers a unique opportunity to our customers. This includes design assistance and creating molds to suit a customer’s brand identity,” adds Jarman. “By offering these sizes, we can help our customers differentiate, compete in the crowded marketplace, allow craft distillers to stand out on crowded shelves, and ultimately determine how they can drive profits.”PET bottles offer numerous environmental sustainability and functionality benefits (Image credit: Amcor).

Climate considerations
Amcor aims to make all its packaging to be recyclable, compostable, or reusable by 2025. In addition to their recyclability, these containers also deliver the lowest carbon footprint versus other packaging types, the company claims.

It highlights that the manufacturing of PET containers produces far less (up to 77% fewer) greenhouse gasses than glass bottles. Also, PET packaging is 80-90% lighter than glass bottles of the same size range while fewer raw materials needed in production leads to less fuel used in transportation.

In related news, Packamama recently introduced its recycled PET flat wine bottles to Australia, claiming to help improve the industry’s carbon footprint by targeting an environmental hotspot: the conventional glass wine bottle.

“Sixty-one percent of Australian wine drinkers think glass bottles are an environmentally sustainable packaging format, when in fact they are the single largest contributor to wine’s carbon footprint. This demonstrates the need for better information and awareness in the space,” Santiago Navarro, CEO and founder at Packamama, told PackagingInsights. 

However, the US Glass Packaging Institute’s president, Scott DeFife refutes claims that glass is more carbon-intensive than competing materials. “When compared to many of the food and beverage packaging options, energy use at glass container plants is either on par or at much lower levels,” he says.

According to Innova Market Insights, 42% of US consumers say transportation and usability on-the-go are the most important considerations for them when purchasing alcoholic beverages.

By Joshua Poole