Ketchup in Coke Bottles

©Heinz

Mayor changeover at the American ketchup manufacturer Heinz: In March 2011 all conventional 500 millilitre ketchup bottles in the US were replaced by the so-called plant bottle, a bottle based on vegetable raw materials and produced by the Coca-Cola Company.

In 1983 when Heinz announced the introduction of plastic packaging for its ketchup this was considered the first mayor change in the brand’s history. The second “revolution” is taking place now: as part of its partnership with the Coca-Cola Company Heinz will replace all its 500 millilitres bottles in the USA with the “plant bottle” that Coca Cola has recently introduced.

Guess what my bottle is made of?

By company accounts the “plant bottle” will look like a conventional plastic bottle with the same touch and will remain completely recyclable. But up to 30% of the material is made of sugar-cane-based ethanol from Brazil – with the aim of bringing down greenhouse gas emissions, waste, water and energy consumption by at least 20% by 2015. The vegetable components substitute part of the crude oil required for traditional plastics production. In addition to this, up to 50% of recycled conventional plastics (PET) will be used to produce these bottles in Europe, says Coca-Cola. From June the new packaging will be labelled with a special logo so that consumers can identify the new bottles at a glance thanks to an on-pack message and the packaging logo “Guess what my bottle is made of...?”.

2011: 120 million ketchup “plant bottles”

Coca-Cola already introduced “plant bottles” for their own needs as early as 2009 and 2010 already saw over one billion plant bottles being produced. The 200-millilitre Coca-Cola plant bottle was already presented at Expo 2010 in Shanghai. At present, it is used in Canada, Mexico, Chile, Brazil, Japan, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and the USA for various products made by the Coca-Cola company. Other markets are to follow in 2011. Over this period a total of five billion bottles are to be used. By 2020 the Coca Cola Company plans to have all plastic packaging replaced by this more environment-friendly version. The company says over 14 million litres of crude oil could be saved this way, already in the first two years after the launch. Heinz Ketchup US intends to introduce up to 120 million plant bottles this year alone.

US $ 10.5 billion annual turnover

US ketchup producer Heinz is one of the leading food producers worldwide with annual sales amounting to approx. US$ 10.5 billion. When Henry John Heinz founded the company 140 years ago he filled his products not into the then customary dark green or brown glass containers but instead already used crystal-clear bottles designed to reveal the quality of the contents. For more than ten years he fought for the introduction of quality standards and even laid the foundation stone for the Pure Food and Drug Act adopted by the US Congress in 1906. May 2008 saw Heinz initiate a global project for reducing CO2 emissions by 20% by 2015.

Pepsi announces organic bottle

In March 2011 US beverage magnate Pepsi also announced a vegetable PET bottle said to be made of such agricultural by-products as switchgrass, pine bark, and corn straw. By company accounts research is currently focusing on further raw materials sources from organic waste occurring in agriculture. The Pepsi bottle is expected to be launched in 2012.

Making a statement for sustainability

The partnership of Heinz and Coca-Cola is set to point the way and show how food and beverage producers can cooperate using and developing further smart technologies for truly sustainable operations. By company accounts Coca-Cola is already today working on the development of a bottle made of 100% renewable raw materials.