High-end drinks a clear business opportunity for Berry

A trend toward fancier drinks is prompting Berry Global Group Inc. to make major investments to expand polypropylene thermoforming capacity.

Berry will spend more than $110 million to increase PP capacity to help meet growing demand for clear beverage containers that better identify and show off drinks as consumers and retailers alike drive change.

Long gone are the times of simply being able to order a Coke, Pepsi, orange drink, coffee or tea. These days, consumers have more choice than ever when they order away-from-home beverages, and restaurants are keen to show off their colorful concoctions.

That's where Evansville, Ind.-based Berry sees opportunity for continued growth by expanding capcity for clear drink cups and lids for places like quick-service restaurants, coffee shops, convience stores and foodservice.

Jeff Mann is executive vice president for innovation and sustainability for Berry Consumer Packaging North America.

PP cups and lids provide Berry's customers — and their customers — with both innovation and sustainability, Mann said.

Berry is positioning PP against both paper and polystyrene foam cups and lids.

"I would say as we look at the overall market demand," Mann said, the trend is "driven by consumer desire for products that enhance their products."

A premium strawberry lemonade, for example, looks better in a clear PP cup, he said.

Driving the use of PP and then promoting both recyclability and recycling infrastructure to handle the material also helps restaurants and other retailers improve their environmental story, Mann said.

"A lot of large QSR [quick-service restaurants] are moving and implementing sustainability goals," Mann said. "They are putting measurables out there that they need to move toward as they try to get to more recyclable products. PP meets that need across the board, for cups, for lids, for all applications of their business."

News of the investment comes as Berry said brand owners "are steadily increasing their forecasted volumes with Berry."

Berry did not announce exactly where all of the expansion will take place, but a major portion of the money will be spent at the company's Lawrence, Kan., location.

The company joined with local and state officials Sept. 14 to reveal creation of 84 new jobs in association with a $61 million project there. Work in Lawrence will include new thermoforming equipment as well as printers.

In total, Berry said, all expansion projects will create 200 jobs.

Berry is keeping quiet, for now, on where the rest of the money will be spent. But spokeswoman Amy Waterman said those details should be unveiled by the end of September.

"Berry Global Group Inc. is a great success story in Lawrence, and we're glad to see them continue to grow their footprint in Kansas," Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly said in a statement. "They will be adding to their workforce of approximately 800 people currently at the facility and continuing to make strides on their long-term sustainability strategy, which will have positive impacts on their products, performance and partners well into the future."

Steve Kelly, a vice president at the Chamber of Lawrence, called the Berry manufacturing site in his town "a mainstay of our local business community for many years."

While other sites still are undisclosed, Berry recently confirmed the company is considering expanding thermoforming capacity in its hometown of Evansville.

Mann stressed during a Sept. 15 interview no final decision has been made regarding the potential to add capacity in Evansville. Waterman said the remaining investment, beyond the money being spent in Lawrence, could go to more than one location. All investments will be made at existing Berry locations.

"We continue to evaluate locations for the rest of the equipment that's currently on order to facilitate the rest of this growth," Waterman said.

Clear cups, providing easy recognition of beverages, provides speedier service and makes life easier for consumers ordering more than one beverage through drive-thrus, Mann said. They also help with speed of service as employees can more easily identify the drinks being served.

The latest $110 million continues a long line of investments Berry has made in PP thermoforming over the years as the popularity of the material continues to grow, Mann said.