Coca-Cola Europacific Partners slashes packaging in Spain with self-service drinks system

29 Jul 2021 --- Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP), the world’s largest independent Coca-Cola bottler, is trialing a self-service drinks dispensing system in partnership with Innovative Tap Solutions (ITS) to reduce its single-use packaging. 

A self-pour, self-pay technology will give consumers a packaging-free delivery method for drinks. It will also cut down queues, reduce the need for unnecessary contact, and free up serving staff – features CCEP believes will be beneficial as COVID-19 restrictions are lifted. 

Craig Twyford, co-founder of CCEP ventures, says the project exemplifies the company’s thinking “beyond the traditional bottle or can.”

“ITS is a great example of how we’re using technology to help our customers sell and deliver our products in different ways.” 

“One of the key focus areas for CCEP Ventures is exploring new partnerships and investments to accelerate sustainable packaging innovation and how we can deliver more beverages while using less packaging.”

“ITS is an opportunity to explore and test new dispensed and packaging-free delivery solutions and, alongside other steps, create a circular economy model that will help us reduce, reuse and recycle our packaging.”

ITS comes to Europe 
The project marks ITS’ first presence in Europe and will be piloted with two businesses: CCEP customer Restalia – a Spanish multinational catering group – and Aspro Parks – one of the biggest European companies specializing in theme parks, water parks, zoos and leisure centers.

The first ITS devices have already been installed in Restalia’s 100 Montaditos restaurant at Centro Comercial TresAguas shopping center, Madrid, and at Aspro Parks’ Palmitos Park and Aqualand Maspalomas, in Gran Canaria.CCEP produces and distributes numerous Coca-Cola products within Europe, including Capri-Sun, Monster and Relentless.

“ITS technology and the implementation of this initiative, alongside CCEP, allow us to offer an automated consumption experience while boosting the circular economy by reducing waste. When tested, our goal is to roll out this system in the rest of Aspro Parks’ facilities,” comments Pedro Cantero, Palmitos Park director.

CCEP’s eco-efforts 
The ITS partnership marks another step in CCEP’s ongoing drive to reduce the environmental impact of its packaging. 

Last year, CCEP began funding CuRe Technology – a recycling start-up aiming to provide a new lease of life for difficult-to-recycle plastic polyester waste. 

Once operational, CuRe can support CCEP in eliminating virgin oil-based PET from its bottles within the next decade. This will contribute to removing an estimated 200,000 metric tons of virgin oil-based PET from CCEP’s packaging portfolio annually and support the transition to a circular economy.

In December, CCEP also began investing in a personalized drinks dispensing technology called Lavit, which allows consumers to customize cold beverages by choosing levels of carbonation and flavor.

CCEP says the investment will form part of an exploration into new technologies that eliminate packaging waste and reduce its carbon footprint while providing consumers new beverage options. 

Forward-thinking strategies
CCEP’s investments fall under its “This is Forward” campaign, which pledges that by 2025, Coca-Cola will collect a can for every one it sells and ensure 100 percent of its packaging is fully recyclable. 

By 2023, it aims to ensure a minimum of 50 percent of its PET bottles will come from recycled content, accelerating toward zero virgin oil-based PET in its bottles within a decade. 

CCEP recently announced ambitions to become a net-zero carbon business by 2040 in alignment with the 1.5˚C climate change-limiting pathway and the Paris Climate Agreement.

In May, CCEP completed its US$7.68 billion acquisition of Coca-Cola Amatil, with the new company name being announced as Coca-Cola Europacific Partners.

Edited 

By Louis Gore-Langton