Ardagh’s recyclable 187 ml cans featured in NICE’s vegan French wines

09 Jun 2020 --- British beverage company NICE has chosen to bottle its vegan French wines in Ardagh Group’s 187 ml aluminum wine cans. Now available to market, the fully recyclable can is the Ardagh’s latest addition to its growing range of wine cans. Moreover, the 187 ml can size makes for a quarter of a standard 0,75l bottle, which is ideal for single-serving consumption. Amid an upcoming canned wine market, NICE stated it wanted to “lead, not follow” and be “early adopters of this uniquely sized and specialized can.”

“Ardagh’s Wine Cans are specifically designed for wine and wine based drinks – which have distinctive geometry, stronger walls and thicker linings,” Adriana Escobar, Product Manager at Ardagh Metal Beverage Europe, tells PackagingInsights.

To prevent a metalic taste, can linings provide a safe and effective barrier between the beverage and metal, Escobar explains. Further, the barrier to light and oxygen given by the nature of using metal beverage cans preserves the most specific taste profiles for an extended shelf life as well.

“As soon as we knew Ardagh’s 187 ml can was on its way, we decided we wanted to launch it as a range to target the on-trade channel. The 187 ml can offers a direct alternative to the 187 ml PET bottle that’s most common in the on-trade and gives customers who are looking to reduce single-use plastic an easy choice,” says NICE’s Co-Founder Jeremy May. 

The move responds to the customer needs for on-the-go convenience. Until previously, single-serve European wines have been mostly available in bottles, boxes or multipack cans in the US. Ardagh’s single 187 ml can aims to offer an alternative to the current market options, touting the potential of the single-serve wines for airports and stations, at outdoor events, or to complement casual dining.

Alongside NICE wines, Ardagh’s 187 ml cans will also be featured in Boutinot’s trio of The Long Little Dog wines. The growing demand for canned wine led to contract wine packer Greencroft Bottling investing £2 million (US$2.6 million) in the UK’s first large-scale wine canning line.

187 ml cans make waves in beverage business
Ardagh’s 187 ml aluminum can brought advancements in size and functionality to the forefront at last year’s alcoholic beverage trade show BrauBeviale hosted in Nuremberg, Germany. Notably, the move of nitro technology into canned cocktails gives a buzzing fizz upon opening and a cascading effect when poured into a glass. It also stood out during the event with its customizable can-designs with its copper-colored tabs.

Ardagh’s cans reign in customer interest from beyond the wine market. Last June, the company’s Nitro Can was adopted by UK cocktail mixer company Funkin Cocktails in a collaboration that saw a novel range of RTD nitro canned cocktails hit the shelves. The company also replicated the distinctive flutes of Jupiler’s glassware in an embossed can. Its smaller surface area keeps beer colder for longer. Last week, the Naked Collective launched a new range of premium health drinks in “infinitely recyclable” 33 cl sleek aluminum cans from the Ardagh Group.

Edited by Anni Schleicher

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