SWEDEN – Absolut Company, the maker of one of the world’s leading premium vodka, has announced a partnership with Swedish start-up Blue Ocean Closures (BOC) to develop an innovative natural fiber-based closure cap for use on current Absolut Vodka’s iconic glass bottles.
The caps design is intended to reduce the amount of plastic used in packaging by combining a body made of sustainably sourced FSC fiber material with a thin top-seal barrier layer. This, according to Absolut, also makes the caps recyclable as paper and ocean biodegradable.
Additionally, Absolute company revealed that the new caps will be an addition to existing cap solutions as well as a possibility for future packaging innovations.
The cap will reduce the amount of plastic required in its packaging and will also be recyclable as paper and ocean biodegradable.
The partners plan to see several iterations of the cap through prototyping and testing stages in 2022, with plans to share it commercially in 2023.
With an ambition to become a fully circular business by 2025, The Absolut Company views the project as a wider ambition to create a fully circular business that will allow it to work with all partners to ensure that 100% of its packaging is reusable, recyclable/compostable by 2025.
Eric Näf, Director of Packaging Development at The Absolut Company said: “We know that collaboration across the whole value chain sits at the heart of long-term progress and true environmental, economic, and social impact. “
As part of our circular way of thinking, we are delighted to be working with BOC to continue designing out single-use materials and using packaging innovation for the benefit of the planet.”
Lars Sandberg, CEO of Blue Ocean Closures added that BOC is proud to partner with Absolut Vodka to bring an alternative cap solution to the market.
Ulrika Evermark, community manager at Blue Ocean Closures also pointed out that apart from Absolute company and BOC, other industry leaders such as ALPLA and Glatfelter are on the profile of the project.
Following through the Absolut Company’s report for the year 2020/2021, the company claims that for the last 12 months of the fiscal year, it has been focusing on refining the strength and stability of the paper structure bottles.
The 2021 paper bottle has a bio-based barrier between the bottle wall and its contents and is made from Polyethylene Furanoate, or PEF, which is derived from plant sugars and is also 100% recyclable, according to Absolute.
This is the second prototype after a paper bottle prototype comprised of 57% paper and fully recyclable was launched in UK and Sweden in 2019.
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