A new collection of glass bottles made in Alloa, which aim to combine both sustainability and premiumisation, have made a strong impact since being launched in May 2021.
That’s the view of Elaine Logan, UK country group NPD & NBD leader at O-I.
Elaine told Packaging Scotland that the firm’s Contemporary Collection of standard glass bottles for the spirits sector are appealing to everyone from craft distillers through to multi-nationals.
The collection started with three bottle shapes – the LUX, ATTENUA and NOBLE – with each design boasting both a thick base and a lightweight version, and with either a cork mouth or screw cap finish.
“The Contemporary Collection is progressing really well, mainly because it addresses a lot of problems that people have with existing packaging they’re using,” Elaine explained.
“Sustainability is a massive thing at this moment in time. What the Contemporary Collection offers is sustainability and premium together in the one container. The way that we’ve designed the bottle allows us to use standard flint and features 32 or 33% recycled content.
“If you look at extra flint, which people tend to use for premium containers, the cullet content on those can be around 5% so already we’re improving the CO2 footprint with the Contemporary Collection.
“The other thing from a sustainability point of view is that it is locally sourced. We’re not bringing it in from abroad. With our factory situated in the heart of the spirits industry, we’re really set to deliver a good, sustainable story from concept design right the way through the supply chain to the consumer.
“We’re offering a combination of sustainable bottles, a sustainable way of making the bottles bespoke, a fast route to market because the bottles are already available, and in a way that you can customise the bottle to your brand and your story.”
Elaine revealed that traditional challenges associated with creating bottles that are both premium and sustainable include the fact that many people associate premium products with a much heavier bottle. There’s also the popularity of putting golds and silvers onto bottles to increase on-shelf appeal.
Elaine says there are more sustainable ways to add premium cues, such as O-I : EXPRESSIONS, the company’s digital printing late-stage differentiation service. This allows for a high degree of customisation on the bottles including embossing, imaging, and tactile effects.
For the 2021 O-I : EXPRESSIONS Design Awards, the business challenged young designers to create innovative bottles capable of making a big impact on-shelf using 3D printing technology.
The brief was to create appealing glass spirits packaging that would help to tackle a real issue faced by brands, namely how to convey both premium brand cues and enhanced sustainability.
The five finalists had their entries printed onto lightweight LUX bottles from the Contemporary Collection and were displayed at the Packaging Innovations exhibition in London in December.
The winner was Rebecca Edwards, who works for Hunter Luxury Packaging. Her entry was inspired by old Norse legends and featured a design for a drinks brand called Ormr (Old Norse for snake). The bottle tells the story of a giant serpent and highlights how the O-I : EXPRESSIONS service can produce complex and detailed designs.
Elaine, who was one of the judges, said, “The winning entry stood out because of the impact on-shelf. (Rebecca) used a very strong brand story to create a premium spirit look. She uses the entire bottle as a canvas, which had a simple but dramatic illustration which circles the entire bottle and is really tactile in nature. The way the scales are 3-D printed on the snake going round the bottle gives a glistening effect. The message was that when the snake lets go of its head, carnage ensues. That was again a message to sustainability.”
Elaine said learning from young designers who have grown up in an era where climate issues have been more prevalent can only help companies in their quest to provide more sustainable solutions.
“They see the world through a different and new set of eyes,” she explained. “Whilst we’ve got the knowledge of experience in years, they’ve got open and inquisitive minds. They can teach us as much as we can teach them in terms of the way they look at things and unpack the world as they see it, and the world that’s going to be left to them.”
For 2022, Elaine said O-I aims to further develop the Contemporary Collection and focus Alloa as a ‘centre of excellence’ for spirits.
“That will be taking customers from concept right the way through to consumer and helping them create sustainable and premium packaging that really meets the needs of their brands,” she concluded.
