Topic “beverage packaging” — Exporter Magazine

PET bottles continue to gain a bigger and bigger share of the global beverage packaging market, helped by the popularity of juices and RTD tea, according FoodProductionDaily, citing an Euromonitor report. A US ink firm has unveiled a range of new commemorative drink packaging designs with a dramatic visual appeal that are dedicated to members of the US armed forces, according to Packaging International’s website. PepsiCo said the bottle is 100% recyclable and has a molecular structure identical to petroleum-based PET. In addition, the soft drinks maker claims the bottle is identical to PET drinks containers in terms of look, feel and product protection. Drinks market research specialist estimates that total demand across the soft drinks and beer markets stood at 1055 billion closures in 2010 (including plastic and metal closures, plus ring-pulls). And over the tough economic period of 2008-2010 overall global growth was 2.2%. The soft drinks giant was quoted saying: “While biodegradable packaging can be a sound choice for products that are not commercially recyclable, the process of capturing the embodied energy and raw materials in beverage bottles for reuse through recycling is, in our view, a much better option.” Tetra Pak already has a manufacturing site in Pune but it has been in operation for nearly 14 years and is reaching its full capacity of 5 billion packages. The new Pune plant will have an initial annual production capacity of 8.5 billion packages, with the potential of increasing to 16 billion packages.