Soft drinks packaging: Carton packs and PET bottles compete for circular convenience crown

28 Mar 2022 --- Environmental sustainability demands continue to dominate soft drinks packaging design, as PET bottle and carton pack producers point to life cycle analyses (LCAs) to justify why their packaging is the most responsible choice for brands and consumers. 

Meanwhile, the COVID-19 experience has fueled a general trend toward healthier and more hygienic living and altered consumer behavior. Notably, convenient family-size products and packaging are more popular due to work from home culture. At the same time, lifted travel regulations mean busy commuters are consuming products again on-the-go.

PackagingInsights explores the latest soft drinks packaging trends with carton pack leaders SIG and Tetra Pak and PET bottle giant Amcor Rigid Packaging (ARP).

Carton circularity 
As regulatory and consumer demands for increased environmental sustainability grow, packaging is increasingly seen as what Risanni Retnaning Dwi, global category manager at SIG, calls “product ambassadors.” The EU Plastics Strategy requires all packaging to be recyclable or reusable in an economically viable way by 2030.

Dwi highlights SIG’s combivita carton pack, which uses a “high share” of renewable materials. “It is fully recyclable by design and made using 100% renewable energy [while] 100% of the paperboard is sourced from FSC-certified forestry. combivita is available with ASI-certified, responsibly-sourced aluminum.”

The carton packs are also available with ASI-certified, responsibly-sourced aluminum. They can be combined with polymers linked to forest-based renewable or post-consumer recycled materials from SIG’s Signature portfolio. The supplier also recently launched Signature Evo, the “world’s first” aluminum-free, full-barrier aseptic cartons for fruit juices, nectars, flavored milk or plant-based beverages.Tetra Pak has launched a cap using certified recycled polymers.

Julia Luscher, VP of marketing at Tetra Pak, echoes that improving the environmental sustainability of soft drinks packaging remains an industry priority. “In fact, it is evolving into a ‘must-have’ for consumers, with interest set only to accelerate over the coming years. The impact on brands is direct, with over a third (35%) of consumers saying they are choosing brands based on their [environmental] sustainability credentials more now than they did before the pandemic,” she adds.

The company recently became the first in the F&B packaging industry to be awarded the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials Advanced Products certification for its recycled polymer cap.

Meanwhile, Tetra Pak packages are recyclable and collected and recycled where appropriate waste management and recycling infrastructure exist. “We are also investing over and above the regulatory requirements to increase the recycling rates and build recycling infrastructures worldwide,” says Luscher.

PET power
ARP sees environmental sustainability as more than a trend and integral to its business strategy to make all of its products recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025. The EU’s Single Use Plastics Directive (SUPD) imposes a 90% collection rate for plastic beverage bottles by 2029 and a minimum of 25% recycled plastic in PET bottles from 2025, rising to 30% from 2030 in all beverage bottles.

“We are committed to utilizing increased amounts of recycled materials, up to and including 100% recycled materials in every bottle,” says Krishna Valluripalli, marketing director for beverages at ARP. “In 2021 alone, ARP utilized 104,000 metric tons of recycled resin to make its products. This 86% increase in recycled PET (rPET) creates an opportunity for brands to address consumer concerns regarding plastic packaging and adhere to the growing number of post-consumer recycled content mandates across the US.”

“As these PCR mandates grow, we anticipate an increasing number of brands to incorporate additional PCR, enabling a more circular economy. We also continue to advance lightweighting technologies.”

Recycled plastic prices are skyrocketing worldwide as industries fight for control over the market to boost their environmental sustainability credentials.

Valluripalli adds that PET is “infinitely” recyclable with existing technologies, including chemical recycling. Meanwhile, 90% of PET in the US that goes into the recycling bin is recycled.NAPCOR is expected to identify PET bottles as the most net environmentally sustainable beverage pack choice in its next major LCA.

ARP and Danone have launched a recyclable bottle for the Villavicencio water brand for the Argentinean market. “This revolutionary packaging is labelless, which reduces the bottle’s carbon footprint by 21%,” says Valluripalli.

The carbon crunch
The National Association for PET Container Resources (NAPCOR) is poised to release a major LCA in the next several months. Valluripalli says the preliminary results confirm PET will be the environmental winner.

“Preliminary results reveal that manufacturing a PET bottle produces 81% less sulfur dioxide emissions, 73% less solid waste, 51% less CO2 emissions, 35% less ozone emissions and 26% less energy than a comparable aluminum can. Compared to glass, PET offers 168% less solid waste, 145% less sulfur dioxide emissions, 120% less CO2 emissions, 97% less water consumed and 96% less energy consumed,” she notes.

However, Dwi at SIG claims that independent LCAs have shown that the supplier’s cartons offer “significantly better” environmental performance than glass, HDPE or PET bottles and cans for various products, including UHT milk and non-carbonated soft drinks.

“The lifecycle carbon footprint of a carton is 28% to 70% lower than the alternatives, and cartons also use considerably fewer fossil fuel resources, with consumption rates between 38% and 77% lower,” she points out.

Meanwhile, an independent study from The Institute for Energy and Environmental Research indicates that, if during one full year, consumers and producers in Europe would choose beverages packed in Tetra Brik Edge Aseptic 1L with LightCap 30 opening instead of PET bottles, it would save the equivalent of all CO2 emissions produced by 60,500 cars.

Morrisons supermarket recently switched its own-brand fresh milk from HDPE bottles to Tetra Pak cartons in a move that raised recyclability concerns. Tetra Pak pointed to the favorable carbon impact of its carton.

Convenience is king
As society wakes up to a “new normal” in the post-pandemic world, on-the-go packaging formats are again important to the modern-day consumer’s busy lifestyle. However, larger formats will remain popular for families and home workers.

SIG’s combivita is its next-generation family-size aseptic carton pack, providing “the next level” of convenience and brand differentiation. “Its organic curve on the back adds to its elegance and makes it easier for consumers of all ages to handle,” explains Dwi.SIG’s combivita has a slanted top and wider opening, providing smooth pouring with its tethered and resealable truTwist closure.

For on-the-go convenience, SIG’s combismile boasts a curved, modern shape and easy-grip corners. “Available in two footprints, combismile comes with a resealable, one-step opening closure. Natural mineral water brand Volvic is one brand opting for our unique combismile innovation with its fruity flavored water ranges for adults and kids,” Dwi continues.

PET bottles also offer convenience with transparent, reclosable and shatterproof qualities. Moreover, they are e-commerce-friendly, which is increasingly significant since COVID-19 accelerated online grocery adoption.

Meanwhile, Tetra Pak has introduced technology allowing consumers to scan a unique QR code on the packaging to access digital incentives. “These [QR codes] proved extremely useful for our customers during the pandemic, essentially allowing producers to turn their products into data carriers,” explains Luscher. “Individual package codes have proved invaluable in enhancing consumer engagement while also gathering information in a valuable two-way feedback loop.”

Tethered caps
Another key consideration for beverage packaging producers is the EU SUPD’s requirements that closures remain attached to single-use beverage containers by July 2024 to support recyclability and reduce pollution.

“SIG was the first to announce the launch of tethered caps for its aseptic beverage cartons in Europe in 2021,” says Dwi. “Customers choosing packaging solutions from SIG’s Signature portfolio will also get the additional environmental benefit of tethered caps made from polymers linked to 100% renewable, forest-based materials.”

Meanwhile, Tetra Pak has introduced an opening device that cannot be detached from the carton unless a certain force is applied. “This [device] encourages consumers to recycle the product by making the process much simpler, as the tethered caps can be recycled with the rest of the carton, according to local legislation and recycling infrastructure,” explains Luscher.

“Currently, our tethered caps are still in the testing phase, with various project streams currently running to cover approximately 40 different packages with tethered caps.”

By Joshua Poole