Amcor has adapted its leading-edge design technology to develop the first polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles for pasteurized beer in Brazil. The company designed custom 600 milliliter containers for beverage maker New Age Bebidas, Leme, São Paulo, that feature the beauty of a glass-like, champagne-style base combined with the convenience of lightweight and shatter resistant PET.
Amcor’s design showcases New Age’s Salzburg craft beer brand and differentiates it from standard glass bottle designs. It features a crown metal cap, replicating the standard glass bottle. The PET containers are a replacement for glass during the filling and capping process, withstanding the internal pressure and high-heat conditions of the tunnel pasteurization process.
“As the craft beer market grows, we are partnering with brewers to achieve attractive designs and cost savings with PET bottles, while also meeting shelf-life requirements,” said Felipe Salles, Business Development director for Amcor in Brazil.
“PET bottles offer design advantages over glass while being lighter weight, more easily and safely portable, and unbreakable, and provide the required barrier protection,” said Rodolfo Salles, research and development manager for Amcor in Brazil. Amcor uses an oxygen scavenger barrier additive to prevent oxygen ingress and egress, providing up to four months of shelf life.
The bottle is compatible with existing recycling streams and is 100% recyclable. The lightweight containers also significantly reduce transportation costs, and energy and CO2 emission reductions along the supply chain. “Innovation and differentiation are the name of the game in the craft beer market in Brazil,” said Fabio Violin, president of New Age Bebidas. “The flexibility of PET packaging allows us to develop a unique replacement for glass that will deliver broad consumer appeal throughout Latin America.”
