Amcor designed custom 600-mL containers for beverage maker New Age Bebidas of 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 says it uses a one-step blow molding process to make the bottles for the brewery. The bottles feature a crown metal cap, replicating the standard glass bottle. The PET containers are a replacement for glass and go through the same cold-filling, capping, and pasteurizing processes. During pasteurization, the bottles need to withstand a maximum temperature of 60 degrees C (140 degrees F) for 15 minutes. CO2 inside the bottles expands during pasteurizing. This exerts stress on the bottle, which, if not for the customized champagne-style base, could cause deformation of the bottle. Pressure-sensitive neck, front, and back labels are printed flexographically.
“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,” says 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,” says Rodolfo Salles, Research and Development Manager for Amcor in Brazil. “Plus they provide the required barrier protection.”
Amcor uses an oxygen scavenger barrier additive to prevent oxygen ingress and egress, providing up to four months of unrefrigerated shelf life. The bottle is compatible with existing recycling streams and is 100% recyclable. The lightweight containers also significantly reduce transportation costs as well as energy and CO2 emission along the supply chain.
“Innovation and differentiation are the name of the game in the craft beer market in Brazil,” says 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.”
