The company has used surplus barley straw to create a sustainable paper packaging solution for beer
Corona's new barley straw packaging. (Credit: Business Wire)
Corona, a lager beer from Belgian company AB InBev, has unveiled a new circular form of packaging for six-packs as part of its sustainable efforts.
The company has used surplus barley straw, a leftover from farmers’ harvests, to create a sustainable paper packaging solution for the six-packs of Corona.
Corona is claimed to be the first global brand to leverage technology and processes three years in development by AB InBev’s Global Innovation and Technology Centre (GITEC).
Corona marketing global vice president Felipe Ambra said: “Corona is a brand born at the beach. We’re deeply connected with nature and appreciate all that it has to offer, so we want to continue to do our part to protect it.
“Our deep reverence for nature is what inspires our vision to become a sustainability leader in the CPG industry, because we want everyone to be able to keep enjoying paradise.”
The advanced pulping process will be used to efficiently handle the relative fragility of the barley straw.
The process, combined with 100% recycled wood fibres, will create new sustainable packaging, which is said to be as strong and durable as a regular six-pack.
Corona claims that its new barley straw packaging has the potential to carry six cold beer bottles from the store fridge to the beach.
The beer brand has announced the launch of new sustainable packaging with an initial 10,000 six-packs as a pilot in Colombia this month.
By the end of this year, Corona is planning to launch the new sustainable packaging in Argentina.
AB InBev will assess rolling out the technology to other brands, upon completion of the successful pilot.
AB InBev packaging innovation director Keenan Thompson said: “We’re excited to finally launch this new packaging innovation we’ve been developing over the past three years. At AB InBev we are continually pushing boundaries by developing scalable solutions.”