Wine drinkers raise glass to alternative packaging 

Bag-in-box wine has been undergoing a renaissance for some time. Once seen as the preserve of cheap wines and student drinking games, BiB can now be found in quality restaurants, containing quality wines, often from boutique producers. 

Consumer adoption is rather a curate’s egg across different markets, however, as Hamblin explains. “The UK is behind [BiB adoption, with the market] comprising 3%-5% of wine sales. In Scandinavia, it is circa 60%, albeit due to monopoly buying. French supermarket wine sales are 40% BIB,” he says. 

The US is somewhere in the middle, with BiB accounting for 17.5% of the total volume of wine sales, according to SipSource (an aggregation of sales between distributors and accounts). 

Looking at the issues BiB faces, Hamblin reels off a list. “They still have a plastic element to them, which is a barrier to adoption to some. [Historically], the poor-quality BiB wines where the tap and bag seal were less good, and the association of only poor-quality wine being served in BiB. [Finally] no ability to age wine in BiB.” 

Despite these potential issues, Sweden’s adoption of the format is particularly high, thanks mainly to state controls on how alcohol is sold there. “The reason for the popularity of boxes in Sweden is hard to pinpoint exactly but it is a very economic package for producers, meaning that the price per litre becomes an advantage,” explains Ulf Sjödin, head of category management at Systembolaget, the government-owned liquor store chain that holds the monopoly on alcohol sales in Sweden. “In a monopoly market like Sweden, consumers plan their purchases more than they do in free markets, so boxes also become more convenient since you can bring home all the wine you need for the next weeks.” 

The latest innovation on the block is a flat wine bottle made from recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET). Created by UK design company Packamama, these vessels look like traditional bottles in cross-section but turn them sideways and they look practically flat, hence saving space. 

“Innovating in shape unlocks game-changing efficiencies throughout the supply chain, fitting up to 91% more wine on a pallet, 83% more on a retail shelf and double in the home,” explains Amelia Dales, Packamama’s commercial director. “Our bottles are fully and easily recyclable. Our eco-flat bottles can reduce the CO2 footprint of wines currently offered in glass bottles by up to 50%.” 

Launched in the UK in 2018, Packamama signed a deal with Accolade Wines in March 2020, with the first bottles going to the Nordics in May 2020, and the UK later that same year. The design reached Australia this year, with sales being so strong there that Accolade has increased its production run and the number of wines available in the packaging. “We’re also in serious discussion with a number of reputable and respected wine brand owners and are looking forward to seeing many more great Australian wines in our bottles next year,” declares Dales, before stating that Packamama’s target markets are those where wine travels through long supply chains, with the US being next in the company’s sights. 

So far, so good, but there are two roadblocks to this particular format: the use of rPET means that some consumers are put off by a cheaper feel; and secondly the shelf life of these bottles is between 19 and 21 months, limiting the sorts of wines that are likely to be packaged in them. 

“Most wine gets consumed within that time anyway. But that doesn’t mean that people don’t think about it,” says Miller. 

Tetra Pak 

Wine cartons with a cardboard outer layer and an inner aluminium foil layer first launched this millennium and have seen modest uptake since then. 

Tetra Pak boasts some of the same benefits as the flat rPET bottles in terms of the environment thanks to saving space and being lightweight. However, recycling can be tricky depending on location due to the materials used being composite. 

SipSource data in the US states Tetra Pak only accounts for 1.1% of total volume sales, while Sjödin states sales for both PET and Tetra have “increased in the last year”. The jury is still out regarding this format. 

Pouches 

Nicknamed #bagnums by Du Grappin wines, wine pouches are made with layers of food-grade film, are usually available in 1.5l packages and sometimes with a handle at the top. They have a tap at the bottom, like BiB, that prevents air ingress, keeping wine fresher for longer. 

While it boasts environmental benefits thanks to being lightweight and is a space-saver during transportation, the opinions of those I spoke to didn’t appear to back this format, with Hamblin pointing to the inclusion of plastic being a problem. 

Meanwhile, in the US, Stratton was even more forthright. “I don’t see a path forward for pouches, they have been in the market for some time and never got much retailer or consumer support. I don’t think they solve a consumer need that box or Tetra Pak don’t already solve.”