Weekly Roundup: Danone water brands target 100 percent rPET in Europe, DS Smith closes Plastics Division sale

06 Mar 2020 --- This week in packaging, Danone’s water brands launched the “WeActForWater” initiative to tackle global water challenges. One of the key ambitions of this initiative is to halve the use of virgin plastic, reach 50 percent recycled PET (rPET) use worldwide and 100 percent rPET across Europe by 2025 for brands including evian, Volvic, AQUA and Bonafont. Also this week, DS Smith closed the sale of its Plastics Division to Liqui-Box for approximately £400 million ($520 million) after tax, while Brazilian craft brewer Bierland transitioned to metal packaging in partnership with Crown.

In brief: Circular Economy action
Danone water brands, including evian, Volvic, AQUA and Bonafont, committed to achieving 100 percent rPET use throughout Europe by 2025 as part of the recently-announced “WeActForWater” initiative. The brands will also target 50 percent rPET use worldwide. As part of the same initiative, Danone pledged to accelerate towards carbon neutrality in Europe by 2025, with evian and Volvic becoming carbon neutral this year, and match every liter of water sold with a liter for people in need in developing countries.

In brief: Products
Brazil-based craft beer brand Bierland converted 100 percent of its product portfolio to beverage cans in collaboration with Crown Embalagens Metálicas da Amazônia, a subsidiary of Crown Holdings. With this format transition, the craft brewer will expand its regional reach, enhance accessibility for consumers and respond to changing market demands. Bierland chose beverage cans due to their many inherent benefits. Advantages include an airtight hermetic seal, which provides temperature regulation and prevents premature spoilage from heat, light or oxygen, which is critical for preserving the flavor profile of craft beer, and portability, which facilitates on-the-go, convenient consumption.Brazil-based craft beer brand Bierland converted 100 percent of its product portfolio to beverage cans in collaboration with Crown.

World Centric unveiled its World Centric Leaf fiber lid collection for hot and cold cups and bowls. Made from unbleached plant fiber, the new collection replaces the use of conventional, petroleum-based plastic lids to provide a 100 percent compostable solution for foodservice operators. World Centric is introducing the World Centric Leaf fiber lids at the 2020 International Restaurant & Foodservice Show of New York, with availability nationwide starting in March 2020.

In brief: Business
Further to the announcement of 20 February 2020, DS Smith confirmed that completion of the sale of DS Smith’s Plastics division to Olympus Partners and its affiliate Liqui-Box took place. The net cash proceeds of approximately £400 million ($520 million), after taxation, transaction adjustments and expenses, will be used to reduce financial gearing in line with DS Smith’s medium-term target of net debt/EBITDA at or below 2.0x.

Coveris acquired Plasztik-Tranzit Kft, a specialist in high-quality flexible packaging solutions for the food industry, for an undisclosed sum. As part of the acquisition, Plasztik-Tranzit Kft is to be renamed Coveris Pirtó. The acquisition of Plasztik-Tranzit Kft is part of Coveris’ new growth strategy that aims to create a hub for high-tech packaging production in Eastern Europe, alongside growing its capacity in the medical, food and films businesses.

Berry announced that to address rising demand, it is investing approximately US$30 million to increase production capacity for ultra-high performance stretch films. The investment is allocated for new lines and upgrades to existing assets in nine of the Company’s North American locations that currently manufacture stretch film. The projects are set to begin immediately and are expected to be completed by April 2021.World Centric unveiled its Leaf fiber lid collection for hot and cold cups and bowls.

Ardagh Group, Glass – North America, a business unit of Ardagh Group and the largest domestic manufacturer of glass bottles for the US wine market, secured a long-term supply agreement with Copper Cane Wines & Provisions to manufacture all of its 750 ml wine bottles in the US, beginning with its 2019 Vintage Series. The partnership connects Napa Valley’s Copper Cane Wines & Provisions with Ardagh’s Madera, California, glass manufacturing facility, helping to keep the winery’s promise to stay local and sustainable by reducing its environmental footprint.

Guala Closures, a world-leading manufacturer of closures for spirits and wine, as well as one of the leaders in connected caps with an industry-unique range of products, signed a strategic investment with London-based agency SharpEnd to combine forces and offer turnkey solutions. Guala Closures has developed tech competencies in the IoT packaging hardware manufacturing, enabling the production of unique and patented NFC-integrated closures at scale. Guala Closures’ solutions, under the NěSTGATE proprietary technology, enable supply chain management as well as ground-breaking customer engagement programs.

Sirane completed the acquisition of a UK-based manufacturer of board products and now has “ambitious growth plans for the new site.” Olympic is a manufacturer of board products, supplying the bakery, fish and cake industries among others. Key products include salmon boards, cake boards, U-cards, sleeves and sandwich boards. Olympic supplies throughout the UK through distributors and direct sales.

Crown revealed that it will build a new beverage can manufacturing facility in Bowling Green, Kentucky, US. The state-of-the-art plant will supply beverage cans to the company's customers, serving a variety of categories including sparkling water, energy drinks, carbonated soft drinks, teas, nutritional beverages, hard seltzers, craft beers and cocktails.

By Joshua Poole