Diageo has selected Ireland as the test market for Everpour, a “bespoke” sustainable packaging pilot for the on-premise channel.
Created by the brand owner’s Breakthrough Innovation unit, the system uses 5- and 17.5-litre stainless steel kegs that will contain its Smirnoff vodka brand. The refillable kegs add liquid to a bottle through a dispense base, of which four options – optic, single or double bottle holder and back bar unit – are available.
When empty, the kegs are collected and refilled. According to Diageo, each keg is estimated to equate to “a minimum of” 500 70cl glass bottles over its lifetime.
The trial, which is set to run for six weeks in seven on-premise outlets in and around Dublin, “will assess technical feasibility of the Everpour system whilst gathering customer and consumer feedback”. Further trials are expected following the conclusion of the current pilot.
“This a huge milestone for Diageo to be trialling our first bespoke Diageo-led developed circular economy system for spirits in the on-trade,” said global sustainability innovation director Dave Lütkenhaus. “We’ve designed the system … with the aim for Everpour to be convenient and desirable for bartenders to use, whilst reducing our carbon emissions.
“We’re looking forward to seeing the results from the trial to take into our next round of product development.”
Late last year, Diageo extended its existing arrangement with Ecospirits, also featuring refillable liquid containers for the on-premise channel, to cover 18 markets for a three-year trial of the latter’s ‘ecototes’. Smirnoff is one of the three spirits brands included in the project.
