Packamama expands polymer wine bottle production to South Africa
Key takeaways
- Packamama has started to produce eco-friendly wine packaging in Cape Town using rPET resin, alongside Safripol and Polyoak.
- The eco-flat bottle is described as a more sustainable alternative to traditional glass packaging that maintains wine quality and shelf life.
- The South African production aims to localize wine packaging in major wine regions, with Packamama scaling its output and welcoming international interest.
All image credits: Packamama.Packamama has begun manufacturing wine packaging in South Africa with local polymer producer Safripol and packaging expert Polyoak.
The UK wine packaging producer’s eco-flat bottle is now made in Cape Town using South African recycled PET (rPET) resin, supplied by Safripol and produced at Polyoak’s facility.
The bottles feature Packamama’s bespoke material stack engineered to protect wine quality and shelf life. The material stack is said to offer a lower carbon footprint than traditional glass wine packaging.
Santiago Navarro, CEO and founder at Packamama, says: “This is how sustainable packaging should scale — locally made, commercially proven, and built with world-class partners. Polyoak and Safripol represent the best of South African packaging and polymers, and together we are showing that you can protect wine quality, protect jobs, and slash emissions at the same time.”
“Producing Packamama bottles in Cape Town, using South African recycled PET, is something we are incredibly proud of. We have already proven the quality at scale, and we are excited to welcome more producers into this next chapter for South African wine.”
The companies say they have already completed a period of stealth production in Cape Town, which took place following Cape Wine 2025 in September.
Local production for circularity
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South African wines in Packamama eco-flat bottles.The partners highlight Safripol’s Let’s Plastic Responsibly recycling campaign, reinforcing the importance of correct collection and recycling of plastic as part of a circular economy.
The partners commit to keeping manufacturing and bottling jobs local, ensuring value remains within South Africa’s packaging ecosystem rather than being exported.
South Africa is the world’s seventh-largest wine producer and the sixth most popular wine country among UK consumers. Packamama says this makes local manufacturing of wine bottle packaging strategically and economically compelling.
Packamama has already manufactured a “six-figure volume” of bottles. The company says this shows the viability of consistent, high-quality output, and demonstrates readiness to scale. It welcomes interest from South African producers and international retailers.
The eco-flat bottle is already available across ten international markets. The South African launch marks a step in the company’s strategy to localize production in major wine-producing regions.
This year, Packamama secured two grants from the Australian Government to test the technical and commercial viability of its wine packaging and scale local production.
