As closure producers ramp up their efforts to become more sustainable, they must also deal with the supply chain crisis and spiralling costs. Joe Bates reports.
In Italy, Tapì Group has been working on new technological processes to design a variety of looks for its closure ranges. One such process is the company’s new varnishless technology, which is used by some of its wood-based closures. “Varnishless is a special heat-treatment of wood that ensures a varnish-like effect, even though the head on the wood-based closure doesn’t undergo any actual varnishing,” explains a spokesperson. “The effect that this creates is totally natural and is perfect for those looking for a sustainable and environmentally-friendly solution.”
The heat treatment gives the head of the closure a colour tone ranging from light to deep brown. “It’s an eco-sustainable solution that gives natural closures a strong visual impact for a significantly improved end result in terms of durability, stability and hardness,” adds the spokesperson. “Because of the durability the wood acquires, it doesn’t rot and is able to resist attacks by mould or fungus.”
Another clever step forward is Tapì’s ultrasound technique, which removes the need for adhesive, screws or glue in a range of different closure types. “Ultrasonic welding allows the head and leg [of the closure] to be welded together without using any glue,” says the spokesperson. “We are currently using this technology in our Starlight range of closures, which uses transparencies and different colours to create a variety of combinations. Ultrasound technology ensures sealability and eliminates any risk of breakage.”
Amcor Capsules makes a good impression with new tech
Earlier in the year, Amcor Capsules unveiled Impressions, an innovative technology in collaboration with sealing solutions provider Selig. The process allows for the customisation of closure liners, boasting CMYK colour-printing technology to let brands print anything from QR codes to colourful logos for direct, digital engagement with consumers.
“This simple addition of printing under a bottle cap not only enhances the customer experience, but can also pique curiosity and willingness to engage with companies outside of the ordinary buyer’s journey,” explains communications manager Juliette Presse. “Printing alphanumeric or QR codes inside the closure invites consumers to engage in digital experiences, such as contests, games or giveaways for a premium consumer experience. The technology can also direct consumers to a brand’s website, exclusive information, or packaging recyclability instructions, in order to inform and connect with them in more meaningful ways.”
Amcor’s Stelvin Texture range, launched two years ago, is also performing well, according to Presse. “Stelvin Texture is a premium solution that allows brands to offer an upscale look and feel to their aluminium closures, thanks to a textured aspect,” she explains. “The offer is divided into two: brands can either choose one of our standard textures or create their own to reflect their needs. Our R&D and marketing team is there to guide brands through every step, ensuring the closure fits brands’ identity and technical requirements.”
Amorim solutions offer protective TCA barrier
Last year saw Amorim, the world’s largest cork stopper producer, unveil Naturity and Xpür, two new anti-TCA technological processes for its natural and technical cork closures. Naturity uses a proprietary combination of pressure, temperature, purified water and time, while Xpür improves on the cork industry’s established application of supercritical CO2 with 21st-Century technology.
The drinks trade’s reaction to both Naturity and Xpür has been positive, helping the company achieve a 12.5% rise in sales last year, with 516m more stoppers being sold. The group’s positive commercial performance has accelerated in 2022 — in the first quarter, Amorim’s cork-stopper business unit enjoyed a 37.8% jump in sales.
Amorim’s director of marketing & communications, Carlos de Jesus, says the introduction of Naturity, an anti-TCA process now used for all the company’s natural cork stoppers, was a particularly important step in the long-term protection of the cork oak as a competitive species. “If we lost the natural whole cork stopper, there is little interest among forest property owners to keep doing the great job that they’ve been doing in protecting the cork forests across the Western Mediterranean,” he says. “If you only do micro-agglomerated stoppers, you’re only going to buy low-quality cork because you’re going to grind it; you’re going to get that through supercritical technology and then what comes out of the other end is a stopper. Yet, that stopper doesn’t generate enough added value to keep things going, to keep the cork forests pristine as we know them.
“To be able to deliver the same kind of non-detectable TCA performance [of technical corks] for the natural whole cork stopper was absolutely fundamental,” De Jesus continues. “We had to be able to do it without damaging … the natural cell structure that cork has or the shape itself. So, it couldn’t be too interventionist. There was a lot of science behind it. There was strong cooperation with a university in Lisbon to come up with the technology to allow us to have that level of performance without deforming or destroying the natural cork.”
In June, Amorim announced the completion of its acquisition of a 3,300-hectare cork oak forest in Portugal where its forestry division continues to test new agroforestry techniques that aim to shorten the initial growth cycle of a cork oak tree from 25 years to between 12 and 14. “We’re talking about increasing the competitiveness of a native species,” says De Jesus. “We have to secure the pure quality and quantity of raw material that match our expected growth rates. Of course, in cork, everything takes decades. We’re not talking about a need for more raw material necessarily next year, but we’re certainly talking about it 20 to 25 years down the road.”
De Jesus is also encouraged that the off-premise in key markets is beginning to act on the proven sustainability credentials of cork. He cites the example of US online retailer wine.com, which now offers every customer who purchases a case or more of wine the opportunity to return used corks in a pre-paid envelope. Over in the UK, wine retailer Majestic also runs a nationwide cork recycling scheme.
De Jesus also lauds the recent decision of UK fine wine retailer Berry Bros & Rudd to remove aluminium capsules from its Provence rosé line for environmental reasons and switch from a technical cork to an Amorim natural cork stopper. The company has also introduced a cork-recycling scheme.
New Diam campaign to raise awareness of its precision corks
During the summer, French technical cork closure producer Diam Bouchage launched a new international media and digital marketing campaign called ‘Controlling Oxygen and Time’. With the company claiming to have resolved the problem of TCA-tainted wine, the activation delivers the message that the wide range of oxygen transfer rates offered in its Diam (still wine) and Mytik Diam (sparkling wine) closure ranges allows winemakers to manage oxygen and time with a high level of precision.
Currently, Diam’s closure ranges offer permeability levels that guarantee optimal ageing over two, three, five, ten and 30 years. In September last year, the company unveiled Mytik Diam 10, a new sparkling wine closure offering very low oxygen transfer rates, making it ideal for high-end Champagne and sparkling wine designed to be aged in the bottle. The sparkling wine segment is a particularly buoyant one for Diam, with sales growing 25% in the year to the end of March.
Sales & marketing director Bruno de Saizieu describes Diam as a “toolbox with many possibilities” for winemakers. “We’re convinced that wineries will bottle the same wine on the same day with different Diam corks depending on where they will send the wine,” he explains. He envisages a day when a Bordeaux wine will be closed with different Diam closures depending on whether the winemaker aims for it to be consumption in six, ten or 30 years.
“It’s what I call the differentiation at the last minute of the wine [production process],” he says. “Everybody in the market, no matter what the quality, is trying to make a differentiation. Often, you have to spend quite a lot of money. In the case of Diam, the winery will be able to make the differentiation at the last minute; it won’t be an added cost for them.”
M.A. Silva’s carbon-neutral success
Last July, Portuguese cork producer M.A. Silva achieved carbon-neutral status. “The independent consultant KPMG International led the study for more than six months, analysing the complete environmental footprint of natural, sparkling wine and micro-agglomerated corks,” says marketing manager Nuno Silva. “The calculation of the carbon footprint was performed through the ‘Footprint Expert’ tool.”
The results of the study were negative numbers with positive effects, according to Silva. “One natural cork stopper can retain up to 267.7g of CO2,” he reveals. “The sparkling wine cork up to 589.2g of CO2. Lastly, the micro-agglomerated cork up to 323.3g of CO2. These results show that a single cork stopper can offset the carbon footprint of a glass bottle, as a packaging component.”
Future environmental goals for M.A. Silva include the reduction of fossil fuel usage by 60% by 2028 in all four of its Portuguese production plants. Silva says: “To reach this goal, M.A. Silva will have to do some strategic optimisations: energy audits to optimise production sites, the rational use of energy measures, energy digitisation and data analytics, continuous replacement of lighting systems; preventive maintenance and monitoring of equipment, and the implementation of photovoltaics.”
The company already uses three green biomass boilers in its three cork stopper plants. “These boilers run on cork powder that comes out from the cork stopper production units,” Silva adds. “This means that the sustainable principle of circular economy is fully applied.”
M.A. Silva’s efforts to become more sustainable are increasingly typical of a closure sector keen to get its house in order and offer drinks makers a packaging component that can play a sizable role in reducing the overall carbon footprint of their products.
This article was initially published in September’s issue of Global Drinks Intel magazine. For details on how to subscribe, click here.
