| PLA alternatives
With greener packaging propositions figuring more prominently in retail thinking, however, the biggest competition could come via PLA-based alternatives. The first of these, ¡®Belu¡¯, is now available at selected Waitrose stores, with further roll-out to other major multiples expected later this year.
While Belu appears to sport all the right consumer environmental tags ¨C it made its first appearance at last year¡¯s Live8 event, for example ¨C there are still some questions to be answered, not least in terms of provenance; the bulk of corn starch polymer emanates from the US, and in the main will be genetically modified.
Performance is also an issue. Racz says, ¡°It¡¯s a brilliant idea, just don¡¯t put it near a radiator. But eventually, if they can develop that and give the bottle more stability, then what a fantastic concept.¡±
Meanwhile, leading category consultancy Zenith International chairman Richard Hall predicts a more immediate response. ¡°It¡¯s very difficult to see anything that might seriously impede PET¡¯s hold on the water category over the next five years; it ticks almost all the consumer preference and manufacturing cost boxes.
¡°PLA-based alternatives, however, do represent an interesting proposition, though their impact on the market is as yet very limited. Whatever the adoption of biodegradables in the sector, one more immediate knock-on effect of growing consumer concerns about the environment might well be to cause more recyclate to be introduced into established PET solutions.¡±
The case for glass
While PET out-performs glass on the shelf, the margin of difference is far narrower in the food service sector
According to data supplied by Euromonitor International, 46 per cent of the 382m volume of bottled still water sold through the sector last year was in glass, which also accounted for 75 per cent of carbonated (over 114m bottles)
That restaurants keen to meet Michelin star standards are required to dispense water from a glass rather than PET bottle is one factor. Another, though, may be a consumer driven distinction between what¡¯s acceptable in-home and on the go, and what seems more appropriate when dining out |
