Britvic UK targets 100% rPET transition by 2023 with Esterform supply deal

22 Oct 2020 --- Britvic is phasing out all non-recycled plastic in its bottles before 2023. The British soft drinks producer will transition to 100 percent recycled PET (rPET), doubling its original plan to achieve 50 percent rPET by 2025 and bringing the target forward by three years.

Britvic is sourcing rPET from Esterform Packaging, the UK’s largest independent converter of PET. Esterform invested £5 million (US$6.5 million) last year for the construction of a UK-based facility that it says can provide a steady, high-quality rPET supply.

“Increasing the amount of rPET in our products has long been part of Britvic’s sustainability strategy,” John Harrington, corporate communications manager at Britvic, tells PackagingInsights. 

“We first introduced rPET content in 2010 but found the quantity and quality available in the UK insufficient along with the rest of the industry. This solution [Esterform Packaging] provides the rPET we need without the increased carbon footprint that importing it would bring.”

Britvic brands Robinsons, Fruit Shoot and R Whites are included in the plans. Pepsi, Gatorade and 7UP are also included – brands which Britvic has exclusive agreements to make, distribute and market for PepsiCo.

Extra costs, new labels 
Due to the current scarcity of rPET in the UK, Britvic is expecting costs associated with packaging production to be higher. However, Harrington says the company is anticipating this to change in time. 

“We should see costs fall in the long term, especially with the reforms being proposed by the government that should increase reprocessing capacity in the UK to meet demand. We will manage the impact on our business accordingly.” Britvic expects packaging costs to initially increase as rPET is relatively scarce in the UK.

Whether the higher production costs will be reflected in consumer prices until reforms are enacted remains unclear and will be assessed at a later date, adds Harrington. 

Support for DRS
Britvic sees tackling waste as a challenge that cannot be handled by industry alone.

“Investing in rPET remains the right thing to do, but we realize that tackling the issue of plastic waste is a collaborative effort. We continue to work closely with the government and industry,” continues Harrington. 

The company is supporting “much-needed reform” of the Packaging Producer Responsibility System alongside a GB-wide Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) that is “not-for-profit, operated by industry, and easy for consumers to use.”

Engaging consumers with labels 
Harrington adds that package branding would be altered to raise consumer awareness. “We want our customers and consumers to know that they are buying 100 percent recycled bottles. We have already updated the packaging of our Ballygowan 500 ml bottles to reflect this, with more packaging changes across our portfolio planned in future.”

This taps into Innova Market Insights’ top packaging trend for 2020: “The Language of Environmental Sustainability.” FMCG brands are increasingly acknowledging the environmental attributes of packaging as a key selling proposition of consumer packaged goods.

In similar moves, Coca Cola is encouraging consumers to recycle their bottles post-use with messages on Swedish and UK labels.

Britvic is a founding member of the UK Plastics Pact, a group of over 40 major industry players aiming to reduce single-use plastics and achieve an average of 30 percent rPET in all packaging before 2025. Under this pact, the company has saved over 1,500 tons of plastic waste in its supply chain. 

In September, the beverage producer announced its Ballygowan 500 ml and Fruit Shoot Hydro bottes are moving to 100 percent rPET in Ireland.

By Louis Gore-Langton