Crown and Zai Urban Europe foreshadow environmental dystopia on aluminum wine can designs

09 Aug 2021 --- Crown is teaming up with Italian wine producer Zai Urban Europe to bring a line of canned wine products to the country’s traditional market. The aluminum cans are illustrated with depictions of a futuristic world where environmental destruction has rendered wine cultivation impossible.

“We have developed a new way of offering wine while remaining focused on well-being, efficiency, resource management and innovation – values that are the backbone of our production strategy linked to sustainability. Metal packaging is key to this, as it is 100 percent recyclable with zero loss of properties,” says Gabriele Stringa, one of the partners at Zai Urban Winery.

The company hopes to disrupt Italy’s traditional wine market – where plastic caps and bag-in-box designs are often used – by making aluminum the go-to option.

“We believe beverage cans will be the future as consumers increasingly look to the impact their purchasing decisions have on their personal health and that of the planet. Our partnership with Crown has made this possible, and now our unique story is reaching audiences across the continent as they enjoy our wines.” 

The new line of wines is available in the hospitality and retail outlets across Italy, Ireland, Germany, Bulgaria, Belgium, Denmark, the UK and Israel.

The characters are intended to provide some narrative by which consumers can preserve wine through caring for the environment.A wineless dystopia 
The collaboration has produced six different can designs, with each featuring a character from an imaginary world set in the year 2150. A lack of care for environmental sustainability has meant that “pollution has ravaged the Earth and only a miracle can bring back the joys of wine to those remaining on the planet.” 

To bring the brand story to life, Zai Urban Winery assigned each distinct character a role in returning wine to the earth: Dr. Cornivus, Gamea, Mr. Bubble, Lady Blendy and Cork Borg. 

“Metal is undoubtedly a key component as we look to the future with sustainability in mind and delivers many practical benefits,” remarks Veronique Curulla, marketing and business development director at Crown Bevcan Europe & Middle East. 

Metal does not alter the taste of the wine inside, Curella explains, and the ability to deliver a single-serve portion means there is no need to open a full bottle when only one glass is wanted. 

“It helps promote responsible consumption and can be easily transported and enjoyed in a wide variety of situations – such as on the beach, at picnics or outdoor events, for example.”

Eternal recycling 
Crown packaging has recently been touting the environmental benefits of metal in packaging, as increasing restrictions on materials like plastic, such as through the EU Single-Use Plastics Directive, begin to impact industry. 

Aluminum beverage cans are the most recycled beverage package in the world, according to Resource Recycling Systems (RRS). In its most recent analysis, RRS established the global weighted average recycling rate for aluminum at 69 percent, compared to glass at 46 percent and PET at 43 percent.

Recently, PackagingInsights spoke with Crown Packaging Europe’s marketing and communications manager Lorena Osella, who discussed the importance of metal in the ready meal sector, how policy changes impact the market and what the future will hold. 

The company’s chief technological officer Daniel Abramowic also discussed how metal can be utilized in the fight against food waste.

In March, PackagingInsights investigated in depth the role beverage cans are playing in the circular economy. 

By Louis Gore-Langton