After launching with Italian winemaker Cantina Goccia’s 3Q 2017 vintage last year, UK-based packaging supplier Frugalpac’s Frugal Bottle has seduced spirits producers Silent Pool Distillers and NB Distillery.
This spring, UK-based Silent Pool Distillers launched its Green Man Woodland Gin in a Frugalpac paper bottle, which it describes as “the first commercially available paper bottled spirit”. And at the end of May, another product, NB Distillery’s School Night, billed as “the world’s first low alcohol and low carbon gin”, also launched in Frugalpac’s paper bottle.
Sophie Best, General Manager, Silent Pool Distillers, tells Luxe Packaging Insight that the brand chose Frugalpac for its sustainability credentials and design flexibility, among other points. “Their product is miles ahead of others in terms of innovation,” she says.
Frugalpac’s Frugal Bottle is composed of 94% recycled paperboard lined with a food-grade plastic pouch to hold the liquid. The Frugal Bottle is said to be “up to five times lighter” than a traditional glass bottle, with a carbon footprint that is six times lower. In terms of cost, the paperboard bottle is comparable to its glass counterpart.
The paperboard is printed and then fashioned into bottles, meaning that rather than being limited to a facing label for its communication, brands can opt for a 360° design. “We wanted to prove that a cardboard bottle can be done properly and look amazing,“ highlights Best. “It doesn’t have to be a ‘downgrade’ and can still represent the premium liquid it holds.”
Given that the Frugal Bottle’s paper casing and pouch are designed to be separated after use to be recycled, how does the brand communicate this to consumers? “We’ve incorporated a diagram onto the back of the bottle that illustrates how to take the bottle apart and recycle the components separately,” Best explains.
Silent Pool Distillers has produced 5,000 of the bottles to date.
These launches follow in the footsteps of Italian winery Cantina Goccia, which launched its Q3 2017 vintage in Frugalpac's paper bottle last year. “Cantina Goccia now intend to make paper bottles a permanent fixture,” Frugalpac CEO Malcolm Waugh said in a statement. The company will package 50% of its wine in the company’s paper bottles, with a white and a rosé wine on the cards.
Frugalpac has received global enquiries to the tune of 70 million Frugal Bottles, including sake and wine bottles for the Japanese market.
