A PET flat wine bottle is a diamond finalist at Dow's 30th Packaging Innovation Awards 2018 thanks to its uniqueness and eco-friendly materials. It remains to be seen whether the PET flat bottle, which is more environmentally friendly to transport and package while maintaining its aesthetics, can become as popular as BIB packaging.

The purpose of the innovation is not to innovate, but to be driven by unmet consumer and industry needs, which is also Garç The inspiration behind on's invention of the e-commerce Flat wine bottle, a uniquely shaped wine bottle that can easily slide through rectangular letterboxes on British gates. With its ingenuity, this "flat" 750ml PET bottle not only improves the delivery of wine packaging, but also has more sustainability improvements than round glass bottles, hence being a Diamond finalist in Dow's 30th Packaging Innovation Awards 2018. The Dow Packaging Innovation Awards, the most authoritative packaging awards worldwide, is now in its 30th year.

Demand drives ideas

" We didn't set out to create a flat wine bottle, we set out to find a way to seamlessly deliver wine to UK homes when the recipient wasn't there to receive it in person, "Garç "Explains Santiago Navarro, CEO and co-founder of on. IMRG, a UK-based online retail association, estimates that failed deliveries cost the industry around ¡ê780m a year, while environmental experts say that redelivering or picking up goods creates 9m kg of carbon emissions.

Garç on explored a number of packaging options to eliminate the failure of wine delivery, including bags and other packaging, while these can also achieve the advantages of seamless delivery, but ignore the aesthetic and emotional function, they cannot be elegantly displayed on the table. Finally, they adopted a wine bottle shaped cross section, which can pass through the letterbox but still look like a traditional Bordeaux bottle, with its proportions and shoulder and neck shape. "Respecting the traditions of the wine means we get the maximum emotional benefit, as well as being functionally beneficial," he says.

This flat bottle is made of 100% recycled PET. While the use of PET is not unique in the production of beverage bottles as a whole, wine bottles are rare.

Recycled PET is not completely clear and has a slight gray tinge, and this is overcome by making the bottle the natural olive green and pink of red and white wines. 100% recycled PET that is currently food safe has been proven by multiple independent sources to not affect the taste of the wine. In this bottle, special materials are added to prevent oxygen migration and help extend the shelf life of the wine. Still, Navarro recommends that wine should not exceed the recommended 12-month shelf life to avoid wine oxidation. The

flat bottle is 320mm tall, about 2cm taller than the round glass version of the same shape and volume. The bottle is 87 percent lighter than an equivalent glass bottle and reduces greenhouse gas emissions during transportation, which may include fuel for trucks and ships. In shape, the bottle also significantly improves the cube efficiency of its packaging during transportation. Its plastic construction also reduces breakage and limits waste, and Navarro says it takes less energy per unit to produce plastic bottles compared to glass bottles.

The decanter offers an option for consumers who are more concerned about the environment and sustainability.

Locate everyday consumption, layout the globe

Flat wine bottles are not suitable for luxurious wines. "We don't cater to wines that need to age in the bottle, "Navarro said. "The best wines that can benefit from bottle aging, such as first growing Bordeaux, should be bottled in glass and sealed with natural corks. However, this is only a small fraction of the 33 billion bottles of wine consumed worldwide each year."

For now, the company is focusing on the consumer gift-giving space in the UK, offering six wines through three e-retailers. And start and partner with a growing global list of wineries, wine brands, wholesalers, clubs and packaging companies. Letterbox delivery for Garç "Just the tip of the iceberg" for on. The company already has global plans for flat bottles, not just for wine, but also for spirits and other liquid foods and drinks. Garç on has acquired intellectual property rights for flat bottles in 35 major wine consuming and producing countries and plans to enter major wine and spirits markets.

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