White Rock Distilleries Enjoys Brand Success with Amcor PET

“The container has a great deal of character with a flat shoulder and plenty of engraving and embossing,” observed Amcor Project Engineer, Paul Crosby.

08/05/09 White Rock Distilleries, the Lewiston, Maine-based manufacturer and importer of fine spirits and liqueurs, teams up with Amcor PET Packaging to convert several brands to unique PET packaging, matching the look of glass while also giving White Rock’s brands their premium look.

White Rock’s first foray into PET for its Pinnacle brand began in 2006 with a conversion from glass for a 1.75 L package. “It was a tremendous success and one that we are very proud of,” said Joe Werda, White Rock’s Director of Operations. Results of this conversion have driven a three pronged strategy by White Rock into PET packaging with Amcor.

Noting the importance of a premium look, Werda said specific brand identity factors such as shape, color and embossing are critical concerns that require time and resources. “We look to PET packaging in three areas: brand extensions, packaging redesign and new product development,” Werda said. “Amcor is really pushing the envelope in design and engineering. Their bottles don’t have the flexible plastic look and they mimic our different brand designs beautifully. I don’t think there’s another company with as many unique bottles as we have.”

Earlier this year a new 1.75 L bottle for Sweet Carolina Sweet Tea vodka and Mount Royal Canadian whiskey hit the shelves. These new PET launches were part of a strategy that began in mid-2008.

Amcor Technical Advantage

For White Rock’s Mount Royal brand, matching the shape of glass is not always a clear process.

“The container has a great deal of character with a flat shoulder and plenty of engraving and embossing,” observed Amcor Project Engineer, Paul Crosby. “The Mount Royal bottle incorporates embossings of CANADA on the front and back, IMPORTED across the front, and PRODUCT OF CANADA in one inch lettering up the sidewall. It is pretty aggressive and distinctive.”

Retaining that family look while changing the geometry for PET material called for considerable engineering, FEA (Finite Element Analysis), and related Amcor technological expertise, not to mention persistence.

Along with the substantial savings in package weight and related shipping costs when converting from glass, Werda says White Rock finds there is much more to like in its growth with PET.

“Our PET bottles are so good looking,” says Werda. “You don’t know until you pick them up whether it’s plastic or glass. You can’t tell the difference when they are side-by-side on the shelf. Partnering with a company like Amcor that you can work with easily is a very good deal. We’ve seen our sales results. It’s a tremendous success.”