The soft drink "Key", produced by Rhodius Mineralquellen, is a healthy innovation on the German drinks market.The trendy beverage is filled in modern "Sleek cans" made by Ball Packaging Europe, one of the leading European beverage can makers. And because it is a whey-product, the can is exempt from the mandatory deposit. Beverage distributor GS Getränke Vertrieb GmbH & Co. KG is also promoting other whey-based products in cans: whey-based beers "Anno 1337" and "MOBIE" will be available through retailers soon.
Rhodius is launching its new soft drink Key on the German market. It is available in cola, orange or lemon flavour and is filled in the modern 330 ml Ball Sleek can. - Our high-quality sleek can is ideal for Key: it keeps the drink cool, is light-tight and is appealing to young, open-minded consumers - explained Frank Sasse, European Retail Manager at Ball Packaging Europe. The Sleek can also scores highly for convenience and excellent printability. Family-owned Rhodius Mineralquellen based at Burgbrohl, Vulkaneifel, sells its own brands and also PepsiCo products under licence.
The recently launched Key brand is based on Permeate which consists almost entirely of water. In various filtration processes, it is distilled as an end product of whey. Whey contains only 0.3 percent salt – less than drinking water. It is particularly popular with fitness and wellness fans because of its low calorie level.
Beverage distributor GS Getränke Vertrieb GmbH & Co from Seligenstadt is planning to introduce whey beers i.e. beer-like whey products.
Anno 1337 and MOBIE, which will appear on retail shelves in Ball’s convenient 500 ml can. Whey-based beer has been known since World War II when, due to the lack of other raw materials, beer was made using whey. Producer GS claims that whey-based beer looks and tastes no different to traditional beer. It is targeted at young, open-minded consumers.
Whey-based beers Anno 1337 and MOBIE will also be brewed using Permeate. Since at least 51 percent of the whey by-product is used in their production, they too count as whey-based products and are therefore exempt from the mandatory deposit.
In 2009, Ball's Sleek cans will continue to be the eye-catcher on retail shelves. In 2008 sales of Sleek cans rose to more than 700 million – with trend rising. To satisfy the increasing demand, Ball set up an additional swing production line in Weißenthurm, Rhineland Palatinate. Both 330ml standard cans with a 66mm diameter and 330ml sleek cans with a 58mm diameter can be produced on this line which can be re-tooled within 48 hours.
Beverage cans are completely recyclable. The recycling of beverage cans saves up to 95 percent of the energy required to produce primary material, thereby also reducing CO2 emissions by up to 95 percent.
Ball Packaging Europe is one of the leading beverage can makers in Europe with 2,900 employees and twelve production sites in Germany, France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Poland and Serbia. The company is a subsidiary of Ball Corporation, which produces quality metal and plastic packaging for the beverage, food and household products industries. In addition Ball Corporation supplies aerospace technology as well as other technology and services, primarily to the US-American government. Ball Corporation and its subsidiaries employ more than 14,500 staff worldwide and in 2008 reported sales of 7.6 billion US dollars.
