Yellow Jersey Wine Takes the Lead
With Embossed Barrier PET Bottle

Though Yellow Jersey took the lead in a distinctive embossed PET bottle for their wine, it will probably be another few years before winemakers stray from traditional wine bottle shapes.

Winemakers now have greater bottle design freedom than ever thanks to a new barrier polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottle from Constar International Inc. in Philadelphia. Constar was selected to play an instrumental role in the recent launch of Yellow Jersey, an important new line of fine wines from Boisset Vins & Spiritueux in Bourgogne, France. The Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) dubbed this new package "the smart bottle," and Constar's MonOxbar™ active oxygen scavenger is the technology that made it possible.

Constar International is a leading global producer of PET plastic containers for food, beverages, personal care, household chemicals, and other end-use applications. The Boisset bottle was produced by MPI Packaging of Mississauga, Ontario, using preforms supplied by Constar with its proprietary MonOxbar material. This barrier bottle is the first 750-ml PET wine bottle commercially manufactured and filled in North America. In addition to its shelf life capability, MonOxbar PET offers advantages of being unbreakable, resealable, recyclable, and lighter in weight for reduced transportation cost and reduced municipal solid waste.

A sustainable team effort

In an important way, the LCBO was a key driver in this bottle design reaching the market quickly in Ontario. The LCBO is one of the largest wine and spirits buyers in the world, and has publicly committed to substantial environmental and sustainability strategies. For instance, the LCBO boasts of reaching their goal of a 10 million kilogram reduction of packaging waste per year–two years ahead of schedule. The members of the board like to consider themselves "early adopters" of global trends and packaging alternatives.

Scott Pleune, v.p. of marketing and business development at Constar, admits: "The driving initiative was really sustainability, but the MonOxbar barrier was necessary for a satisfactory shelf life." The partnership of Constar and MPI Packaging was also a key driver. MPI Packaging president Ron O'Brien says: "It was a matter of recognizing all three parties needs. This is unique because the retailer would not normally have a role in the introduction of a packaging conversion. In this case, the LCBO was motivated by the improved environmental characteristics."

The LCBO tested Constar's claims of reliable oxygen barrier, and confirmed that the wine tasted just as good as the equivalent in a glass bottle. MPI Packaging finds that many wine customers come to them with conceptual notions for bottle design but without experience in dealing with PET. The Yellow Jersey brand owners were very specific about the aesthetic they wanted, or what they definitely didn't want.

O'Brien recalls that Yellow Jersey didn't want to just mimic a glass bottle, but rather draw attention to the fact that this bottle was different. The embossed jerseys create a grid pattern on the bottle that is hard not to notice." This is quite a change," O'Brien emphasizes." They didn't want to mimic a glass bottle. Because of Yellow Jersey's lead, this has given others comfort to change."

Innovation by design

Other major consumer products companies are entrusting their oxygen-sensitive products to MonOxbar for premium fruit juices, enhanced waters, and ketchup, among others. The single-layer construction allows for greater design freedom, unbreakable packages, cost-effective barrier packaging, and an 80% to 90% reduction in packaging material weight. O'Brien predicts that wine will break through in PET like distilled spirits and liquors, partly because of design freedom and partly because of distribution and filling freedom afforded with bulk shipping.

Constar's Pleune stresses that the traditional wine bottle shape is not going to go away any time soon." Everyone wants a clean glass appearance, and that's what we're aiming for," says Pleune. The MonOxbar PET bottle does not have any restrictions to speak of." You have a lot more design latitude," says Pleune."It's really up to the imagination of the marketer."

Jean-Charles Boisset, president of Boisset Vins & Spiritueux, sums up the new bottle design effort: "This new packaging was chosen for reasons of sustainability and performance. We needed a package that would protect our premium wines. A key driver was our desire to satisfy the LCBO's environmental initiative which aims to educate brand owners to consider more sustainable packaging materials. Both the company and I have a firm commitment to environmental preservation."