Diageo's ground breaking paper bottle trials

This year Diageo launched two 90% paper-based bottle trials in Europe that harness pioneering new packaging technology. The 90% paper bottles have  a thin plastic liner using revolutionary Dry Mould Fibre technology and were the first paper bottle trials that Diageo’s undertaken.

In partnership with PA Consulting and Pulpac, Diageo’s Sustainability Breakthrough Innovation team launched two of its first ever paper bottle trials in quick succession.  In May, we launched a consumer trial with Baileys Minis paper-based bottles at the Time Out Food Festival in Barcelona.  And more recently in September, we launched an on-trade trial with Johnnie Walker Black Label paper bottles at the 1820 bar at Johnnie Walker Princes Street, Edinburgh.

The Johnnie Walker paper bottles are up to 70% lighter than the glass alternative and initial external LCA analysis demonstrates they have the potential to almost halve our packaging carbon footprint. (1)

These paper bottles forge new packaging innovation frontiers whilst successfully demonstrating what we call in Diageo the triple-win; carbon savings mean they help us work towards our carbon reduction goals for the environment , bespoke designs have been well received by consumers, and long-term comparable COGS calculations indicate that if scaled, could bring business benefits too.

Driving Breakthrough Innovation

Working in collaboration with PA Consulting, as part of the Bottle Collective with Pulpac, we have pushed the boundaries from both a technical and design perspective to trial totally bespoke 90% paper bottles for not one, but two, of Diageo’s global giants in quick succession that also maintain their brand identities.

Building upon consumer insights from across Europe, we knew that desirability for consumers was critical to success.  For our consumers, our packaging is part of the overall brand experience and for centuries consumers have held the believe that heavy ornate bottles equal luxury.  If we want to be more sustainable, we need to challenge these norms and establish new perceptions of luxury, celebrating the unique qualities and finishes of paper that still reflect the premium look and feel consumers expect.  And so we challenged ourselves to create two paper bottles that have carbon savings, whilst also feeling premium and luxury by design.

On a more practical note, the bottles have been designed with recyclability in mind. 90% paper is the ideal threshold to ensure paper recycling compatibility across Europe.  Moreover, the plastic liner is designed to not require consumer or bartender disassembly, as it is not attached or bonded to the outer paper layer, assisting recycling facilities to separate without disrupting the recycling process.(2)

Key Learnings To Date

When it comes to beverages, 68% of consumers want to buy more sustainably but only 12% do due to barriers including expense, lack of availability, and confusion about what is on offer. (3) These paper bottle innovations work to close this ‘say-do’ gap for consumers by developing a more sustainable and desirable packaging solution.

Our consumer research from the Baileys Minis trial showed a large percentage of consumers gave a big thumbs up to the sustainability credentials as well as desirability of new packaging.  The reactions of the consumers who took part in the trial were encouraging, with substantial numbers highly positive about the sustainability credentials, the look and feel and occasionality.

• 86% felt the fact it was made predominantly of paper was important and a positive move by the brand
• Consumer response on the quality and likeability on the look of the bottle was high (scoring 8.1 out of 10 – a score deemed “excellent” by internal metrics). Getting consumers to want the bottle in their hand is key to consumers accepting such innovative packaging.

We’re currently assessing the results from the Johnnie Walker paper bottle trial in Johnnie Walker Princes Street and we’ll be sharing the learnings of these on Diageo channels before the end of the year.

The Future of Sustainable Packaging at Diageo

We know there’s not one answer on making packaging more sustainable and we need to cater for our customers and consumers who want different things, at different times, for different products. We also take the approach of progress over perfection so we can try new formats, we can test with consumers, and we can continue to evolve our approach to packaging. We’re working towards our ambition to reduce our carbon footprint by exploring new packaging formats across our portfolio. We’ve trialled a 70cl aluminium spirits bottle with Baileys in Global Travel retail, signed a global licensing agreement with circular economy technology company ecoSPIRITS, and are removing the cardboard gift boxes in our premium Scotch portfolio to reduce excess packaging.

(1) External LCA analysis conducted by Anthesis shows the Baileys Mini’s bottle to be 49% lower climate change impact than vPET equivalent.  LCA analysis by Anthesis also shows the JW bottle to be up to 47% lower climate impact than the JW glass bottle equivalent.  Anthesis validated the JW paper bottle was 60% lighter than the JW Black glass equivalent. 

(2) Dry Molded Fiber bottle prototypes have been shown to be suitable for recycling in standard paper mills through the CEPI test method. We received some positive results from initial tests of prototypes from a large recycler in the UK, ongoing tests with leading waste management companies and recyclers are continuing in UK and other EU markets.

(3) https://www.bcg.com/publications/2023/nudging-customer-behavior-toward-sustainable-choices

Michelle Atkinson is a Member of The Marketing Society and Senior Global Sustainability and Innovation Lead at Diageo. 

Published on 6 November 2024