Aluminum Bottles Penetrate Coffee, Cider Markets

Aluminum bottles continue to gain popularity among beverage companies worldwide, with the package now being adapted to market both a Swedish cider and a ready-to-drink iced coffee beverage produced by the Coca-Cola Company. Elsewhere, new aluminum-bottle packages have also recently been unveiled by Diet Pepsi and prominent French wine exporter Boisset. 

Micider
Swedish company Trendway has selected Boxal’s 330-ml longneck aluminum bottles for the launch of its Micider line of beverages. Boxal’s brushed-aluminum bottles are being used to package the company’s Blueberry, Lingonberry, and Cloudberry drinks.

The brushed-aluminum bottle features a combination of matt and gloss effect on a pure white background to give the package a chilled/frozen look. The decorated bottle—which uses high-definition colors/graphics—acts as a “silent salesman” to convey the brand’s core values, says Boxal.

According to Boxal, which began producing the bottle—together with 250-ml and 500-ml varieties—last year, the package is 10 times lighter than an equivalent glass bottle, thus optimizing shipping logistics, and is fully recyclable. Additionally, the bottle cools down faster than its glass counterpart, thereby making it particularly suitable for picnics, barbecues, and other spontaneous on-the-go situations.

Boxal notes that the bottle boasts additional advantages over competing packaging materials. It is shatterproof and, due to its imperviousness to air and light, optimizes product preservation and shelf life.

Caribou Coffee
Caribou Coffee and the Coca-Cola Company have begun rolling out a new line of ready-to-drink (RTD) iced coffees packaged in aluminum bottles. Caribou has introduced its Iced Coffee Regular, Vanilla, and Espresso flavors in 12-oz. Alumi-Tek bottles produced by Ball Corporation. 

"The new beverage will expand the reach of the Caribou Coffee tradition and bring the simple, everyday values of the Caribou coffeehouse experience to a broader national audience," said Michael Coles, Caribou Coffee chairman and CEO. He added that the package would allow the beverage to penetrate the RTD category.

The screwcapped aluminum bottles are being placed in convenience stores in Minneapolis, Chicago, Atlanta, Cincinnati, Columbus, Detroit, and Kansas City. They will also be available at Caribou Coffee shops and will be distributed nationally beginning in 2008.

Ball Corporation began manufacturing the Alumi-Tek bottle last year, using technology developed by the Universal Can Company, of Tokyo. The lightweight, recyclable package can be used for a wide variety of beverages, including carbonated soft drinks, juices, and energy drinks—as well as coffee drinks and other beverages requiring retort processing.

“This is a distinctive package that adds the convenience of reclosability to the list of well-known aluminum can attributes, such as superior shelf life, tamper resistance, the ability to chill quickly, and recyclability,” Michael Herdman, president of Ball Corporation’s Metal Beverage Packaging Division, said at the time.

Caribou Coffee is the second-largest specialty coffee company in the U.S., with 480 coffeehouses, including 39 licensed locations. Its coffeehouses are located in 18 states and the District of Columbia, as well as in several venues outside the U.S.

Mommessin Beaujolais
“We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we simply borrow it from our children.” So notes the press release attending the North American launch of Mommessin’s fresh and fruity Beaujolais 2006 in a stylish, lightweight screwcapped 750-ml aluminum bottle.

And, indeed, environmental concerns appear to have been a driving force in the decision by Boisset—one of the top five French wine marketing and exporting companies—to launch in an aluminum bottle.

“Light to carry and infinitely recyclable, aluminum offers a [range] of consumer and environmental benefits,” Boisset notes. The company adds, “. . . these innovations and this respect for the environment bring real added value to consumers and are all about understanding that packaging is changing and tomorrow’s products may not be the same as today’s . . .”

Boisset describes the package as being in perfect sync with the wine itself: “light, young, festive and off-beat, cheeky, modern, and above all—and against all expectations—totally respectful of the natural world.”

In addition to its environmental and image-building qualities, Boisset notes that the bottle also boasts several practical advantages. According to the company, the package chills three times faster than a glass bottle, making it perfect for picnics, barbecues, and relaxed meals between friends. What’s more, it carries a “Cool Dot” sensor of thermo-sensitive ink that prompts the consumer when the wine has reached its optimal temperature (44 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the company) by turning from white to blue.

The package—which carries a suggested retail price of $12 in North America—is scheduled to be introduced in several countries in Europe next year.

Diet Pepsi “Premium Good”
Following hot on the heels of its introduction of limited-edition aluminum bottles for its Mountain Dew brand, PepsiCo has introduced a limited-run aluminum bottle for Diet Pepsi.

Like the Mountain Dew campaign, “Diet Pepsi Serves You a Premium Good” is an aluminum bottle series featuring designs by a variety of artists. The campaign has come to life at a series of exclusive parties hosted by DJ AM that have taken place at a number of locations around the U.S.—New York, San Francisco, Las Vegas—and timed to dovetail with various youth, fashion, and celebrity events taking place.

Thus far, four different bottles have been made available at the events and are being given to consumers who purchase products associated with the four Premium Good partners (a variety of youth-fashion/streetwear-related companies). The four bottles that have debuted so far are the Denim, Music, Poker, and Lifestyle Shoe editions.