Diageo’s Paper Baileys Bottle Trial – the Verdict

Diageo will continue to develop its innovative paper-based Baileys Mini bottles after consumers put it to the test at the Time Out Festival in Barcelona.

Over the festival weekend, 2,000 samples of the 80ml Mini bottle were given away to consumers, with 310 of those interviewed for quantitative research via a questionnaire.

And then 37 agreed to take part in a qualitative trial, answering more in-depth questions about the packaging, liquid and aims of the innovations.

What the consumers said

Diageo called reactions from the consumers who took part in the trial “encouraging”, with “substantial numbers highly positive about the sustainability credentials, the look and feel and occasionality”.

Of those questioned:

• 86% felt the fact it was made predominantly of paper was important and a positive move by the brand
• Comments on the quality and the look of the bottle were strong (scoring 8.1 out of 10).

However, there were areas that Diageo has noted for improvement.

The three materials used in the bottle (paper, a thin plastic liner and foil seal) created confusion when it came to recycling the product.

Diageo said: “However, we are across these issues, and for test purposes the key was trialling the paper bottle and consumer response to it (and the foil seal was only a temporary solution, given that it is not recyclable in paper streams).”

The company added: “We also learned consumers would like to use the Mini format to add a dash of Baileys into their coffee or hot chocolate, so made clear their preference was for a resealable lid rather than foil in the Minis format.

“This was good insight to receive but as per above the foil seal was not part of the long-term scale-up plan.”

Progress over perfection

Made in partnership with PA Consulting, as part of the Bottle Collective with PA and PulPac, the bottle is dry moulded fibre, which is 90% paper, with a thin plastic liner (9%) and a foil seal (1%).

The bottle is designed for recycling in standard paper streams and does not require the consumer to separate the plastic liner from the paper bottle when disposing.

Reflecting on the trial, Dave Lütkenhaus, Global Sustainability & Innovation Director, said: "It was brilliant to see our first paper-based bottle out in front of consumers.

“We were really pleased with how consumers interacted with the material and their willingness to buy it in the future.

“With all new to market innovations, we know there is always room to improve and we're embracing a progress over perfection mindset so we can develop a bottle that consumers want with them feeding back throughout the journey.”

He added: “We'll be taking the learnings and working with PA on the next iteration of the paper-based bottle.”

Sustainability-savvy consumers

Speaking when the trial was launched, Ewan Andrew, President, Global Supply Chain & Procurement and CSO, Diageo, said: “When it comes to our packaging, we’re taking an approach of progress over perfection, knowing our packaging will need to evolve along with consumer needs and technological advancements.

“The consumer is becoming more sustainability savvy and we believe we can meet that need using our design and innovation to bring premium products and more sustainable solutions together.”

The 2,000-bottle trial with consumers was also designed to test how the bottles travelled from the filling site in Ireland, to Barcelona.

Jamie Stone, Design and Innovation Expert at PA, said: “We are delighted that the Diageo Baileys Minis are now hitting the consumer market.

“Dry moulded fibre bottles are a huge step forward, setting new standards in the world of more sustainable packaging. But this is only the beginning.”

He added: “PulPac’s dry moulded fibre technology has immense potential: not only is it water-saving, energy-efficient and recyclable, but it is also viable at commercial manufacturing speeds and scale.”

******

Make sure you check out the latest edition of Sustainability Magazine and also sign up to our global conference series - Sustainability LIVE 2024

******

Sustainability Magazine is a BizClik brand

******