The trial centres around 2,000 8cl bottles of Baileys that are 90% paper and feature a plastic liner and foil seal. The format, which can be recycled in established paper streams, will appear at the Time Out Festival in Barcelona later this month.
Positioned by the group as its “first consumer facing trial with paper-based bottles”, the Baileys-fronted move comes almost two months after 30,000 units of the liqueur went on sale in selected European global travel retail outlets in lighter-weight aluminium packaging.
Both pilots sit under Diageo’s ‘Society 2030: Spirit of Progress’ ESG plan.
“This … trial … will test how the bottles travel from the filling site in Ireland, to Barcelona, along with how consumers interact with the material, and how they understand the sustainability credentials of the paper bottle,” the brand owner said.
Chief sustainability officer & global supply chain & procurement president Ewan Andrew added: “When it comes to our packaging, we’re taking an approach of progress over perfection, knowing our packaging will need to evolve along with consumer needs and technological advancements.
“The consumer is becoming more sustainability savvy and we believe we can meet that need using our design and innovation to bring premium products and more sustainable solutions together.”
Diageo is also undertaking a feasibility study of a 90% paper-based bottle for rum brand Don Papa. The pack, which is at the development stage, would replace the cardboard box “to give the illusion of a gift box, which is in fact the whole bottle”.
