The Wine Pouch Is the Next Big Thing

If Vendange Merlot in a Tetra Pak is the "juice box" for adults then this new Australian item is the adult's version of the Capri Sun juice pouch. Now they just need to tape a straw to the side. Leave it to the Aussies to come up with the next big thing in alternative wine packaging. This item is from the Sydney Morning Herald.

Wine pouch set to challenge traditional bottles
Winsor Dobbin
December 17, 2006

AUSTRALIAN wine producers are turning away from traditional bottles and trying revolutionary packaging to grab a bigger share of the increasingly competitive market.

West Australian company Palandri is using a plastic and aluminium foil wine pouch it hopes will end the dominance of the ubiquitous 750-millilitre glass bottles.

And the Hardy Wine Company has introduced a world-first plastic bottle and wine-glass combination.

Palandri has called its recyclable pouch the "Cheer Pack".

With a resealable plastic screw cap, it holds as much wine as a traditional bottle, uses less shelf space and weighs just 15 grams compared with 500 grams for a glass bottle.

It can withstand up to 75 kilograms of pressure, making it much stronger than a wine cask, and has a shelf-life of up to two years.

Palandri has launched a range of its premium Baldivis Estate wines in the new packaging, which the company believes will boost its annual export earnings by $32 million over the next two years.

More than 3500 cases of the eco-friendly and resealable packaging have been exported to Canada with orders for a further 15,000 cases.

The Hardy Wine Company last week launched the "Shuttle" - a single-serve acrylic wine bottle sealed by a tamper-proof upturned plastic cup that is twisted off and used to drink the contents.

Hardy's said the all-in-one, bottle-glass package was a world first aimed at getting drinks out fast at concerts and sporting events where big crowds needed to be served quickly.

The company's global marketing manager Miriam Leenders said Hardy's had used Cirque du Soleil Australian audiences to test the 187-millilitre combo.

Wine sales had increased more than 160 per cent compared with the circus's previous tour and people were served more quickly.

Ms Leenders said there were technology challenges including ensuring the closure was tight enough to prevent leaks and oxidation of the wine, getting the cup to twist off effectively, developing a new production line to put the cup on the bottle and finding an additive to put in the plastic to give the bottle a shelf life of 12 months.

Hardy's is test marketing the product in a few retail stores and will send 250-millilitre Shuttles to Britain to test market acceptance. The 187-millilitre bottles will cost $4.95.

Palandri said its Cheer Packs contained merlot, shiraz and chardonnay.

It hopes the Cheer Pack will be popular with airlines and cruise operators keen on space and weight-saving alternatives to bottles. The technology has previously been used for juices, sauces, purees and soups.

Wine pouch set to challenge traditional bottles - National - smh.com.au

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