An Exceptional Beer Bottle at the Sidel Stand

At first glance, this object does not even seem to be a bottle. It boasts an unusual shape with very sleek lines, and the cap is completely hidden.

08/11/08 A total of 1,500 collector’s edition PET beer bottles designed by Sidel will be distributed at the Sidel stand during the Brau Beviale trade show on November 12-14 in Nüremberg, Germany.

At first glance, this object does not even seem to be a bottle. It boasts an unusual shape with very sleek lines, and the cap is completely hidden. It is only when you turn it over and remove the protective cap that you see that it is a beer bottle, upside down! Right side up, with the protective cap still on, it looks like a stem glass. More than a bottle, this object is unique, fun, multi-functional and pleasing to the eye, creating a new beer-drinking experience.

With this bottle, Sidel breaks with the formal codes for beer packaging, particularly in glass bottles. “We wanted to explore the opportunities that PET offers, so as not to reproduce what is done in glass, thus avoiding any comparisons,” explains bottle designer Laurent Lepoitevin. “Our aim was also to show that PET is not just for low-end bottles.” This bottle takes the demonstration to an extreme. With its sleek lines, original shape and high-prestige design, the bottle is inspired more by packaging codes for the luxury market than by those for the beverage sector.

PET: Market Stimulus
While the beer market is highly dynamic, with both industrial giants and family-run businesses cultivating a taste for innovation, changes in packaging codes follow longer cycles. Glass and metal have dominated the market for 50 years. However, the plastic bottle has yet to show all it has to offer: its capacity to give shape to distinctive, modern, trendy and economical packages. For brewers looking for marketing diversification tools, PET is the ideal solution.

Environmental considerations also make PET more and more interesting: less energy is needed during the PET manufacturing process, and PET is 100% recyclable.

With a market share of just 3% today, PET bottles can be considered a potential stimulus for the beer market. An example can already be seen with its breakthrough in Eastern Europe, where its market share is nearly 10%, versus 5% in Germany.