Amcor Ltd. has developed the first PET bottles for pasteurized beer in Brazil.
The company designed custom 600-milliter containers for beverage maker New Age Bebidas in Leme, São Paulo, that feature the beauty of a glass-like, champagne-style base combined with the light weight and shatter resistance of PET.
The PET bottles are on New Age’s Salzburg craft beer brand. It has a crown cap, replicating the standard glass bottle. The PET containers are a replacement for glass during the filling and capping process, withstanding the internal pressure and high-heat conditions of the tunnel pasteurization process.
“As the craft market grows, we are partnering with brewers to achieve attractive designs and cost savings with PET bottles, while also meeting shelf-life requirements,” said Felipe Salles, Amcor’s business development director in Brazil.
Amcor uses an oxygen scavenger barrier additive, giving the beer up to four months of shelf life.
“Innovation and differentiation are the name of the game in the craft beer market in Brazil,” said New Age President Fabio Violin. “The flexibility of PET packaging allows us to develop a unique replacement for glass that will deliver broad consumer appeal throughout Latin America.”
New Age introduced the new beer packaging at Amcor’s stand during the Fispal Tecnologia show in São Paulo June 25-27. The brewer has undertaken a pre-market trial in select cities.