KinsBrae Packaging, a pioneering Canadian company in food and drink sustainable packaging, is enhancing the eco-friendliness of their innovative KB bottles. The shift to a mono-material polyethylene pouch will significantly simplify the recycling process.
The KB bottle, developed by British firm Frugalpac, is crafted from 100% recycled paperboard and boasts a carbon footprint that is 84% lower than traditional glass bottles. Recently, the KB bottle achieved recognition by winning the prestigious “Product of the Year” award in the 2024 Packaging category—a title determined by consumer votes for product innovation.
KinsBrae Packaging holds a notable distinction as the first company worldwide to install a Frugalpac paper bottle machine in its Cambridge, Ontario facility back in 2023. This milestone underscores their commitment to leading advancements in sustainable packaging.
The KB bottle debuted with a metallised PET (MET PET) pouch for liquid containment. However, concerns arose regarding its recyclability in certain Canadian provinces. To address this issue, KinsBrae Packaging has transitioned the KB bottle’s MET PET pouch to a mono-material polyethylene pouch, which will benefit from enhanced recycling rates due to Canada’s more developed recycling infrastructure for mono materials.
The new polyethylene-based pouch technology retains the necessary shelf life and drop height attributes, ensuring it meets market demands for wine and spirits. KinsBrae Packaging has undertaken extensive testing for oxygen transfer, filling, and distribution to confirm that the new material aligns with industry needs.
Among KinsBrae’s paper KB bottle clients are notable brands such as Georgian Bay Spirit Co, whose Eco Gin is sold at LCBO, and Magnotta Winery, Ontario’s third-largest winery, which has recently introduced Ugly Duck Red and White at LCBO. Additionally, Frisky Beaver, another Ontario winery, also distributes through LCBO.
KinsBrae Packaging CEO Shawn Bonnick stated: “At KinsBrae Packaging, we’re constantly striving to improve the sustainability of our packaging and listening to our customers. The bottle is made from 100% recycled materials, but there were concerns that the pouch may not be accepted for recycling, and we wanted to address that.
“With the advances in pouch technology, we can now give the KB bottle a sustainability upgrade by moving to a mono-material pouch that is much easier to recycle, and we have confirmation that it has been approved by recycling facilities.
“The best thing about the design of the KB bottle is that as pouches become even more sustainable and recyclable, we can easily upgrade to them. It’s future-proofed sustainability and recyclability.”
The new mono-material pouch is set to launch in 2025, with additional details readily available upon request.
Frugalpac has recently received a King’s Award for Enterprise in Innovation for their Frugal Bottles and the associated manufacturing equipment.
Today, the Frugalpac-designed paper bottle is embraced by 46 brands across 109 SKUs in 25 countries, including retail availability in Whole Foods Markets in the US and Aldi supermarkets in the UK.
