Carlsberg Marston’s – 2023
This experimental bottle is the latest innovation as part of Carlsberg UK’s constant pursuit of a better future, following the roll-out of the pioneering Snap Pack and ongoing work with WWF to help protect UK ocean wildlife.
In its largest trial to date, Carlsberg puts its first bio-based and fully recyclable beer bottle in the hands of the UK public this summer. The full trial included 8,000 bottles across eight European markets.
Not only does the bottle generate fewer CO2 emissions than a single-use glass bottle, but also the beer within the bottle has been brewed with organic barley, grown with more sustainable farming practices to reduce its carbon footprint
The most significant innovation to the Fibre Bottle is the plant-based lining within. This pioneering PEF lining, made entirely from natural raw materials, protects the taste and carbonation of the beer. The outer shell of the bottle is made with sustainably sourced wood fibre and due to its insulating properties, it may keep the beer cold for longer compared to cans or glass bottles.
In addition to matching the quality and freshness of regular Carlsberg beers, the brew within the Fibre Bottle is made with barley grown using more sustainable farming methods. As well as removing carbon from the air naturally, these new farming methods also enhance soil health and improve farmland biodiversity – all helping to create a vision of a better beer for the future.
The Generation 2 Fibre Bottle is a pioneering packaging solution for our beer, consisting of a plant-based PEF polymer lining (≈45%) and a wood fibre outer shell (≈55%). Together these natural materials make the bottle fully bio-based (excluding the cap) and recyclable (including the cap). The bottle design and material composition are being continuously improved as technology evolves.
The ultimate vision for the Fibre Bottle is to achieve up to 80% less emissions than current single-use glass bottles, which means that for the carbon footprint of every single-use glass bottle created, five Fibre Bottles could be created. Following product sampling and feedback gathering we will improve the design further and continue working towards our ambition to make these bottles more widely available over time.
The Fibre Bottle is the latest sustainable innovation following the launch of Snap Pack, which removed the need for plastic rings on small packs, and several other contributions from The Carlsberg Foundation – an organisation that funds supporting visionary and innovative basic scientific research that makes us smarter, addresses global challenges, produces growth and welfare, and is universally beneficial.