The latest news, trends, analysis, interviews and podcasts from the global food and beverage industry

Suntory Beverage & Food GB&I (SBF GB&I), the maker of Lucozade, has invested £6.3 million in redesigning its Lucozade Energy bottles, cutting plastic use and improving recyclability.

The new design features a half sleeve that covers just 50% of the bottle’s height, reducing sleeve weight by 60%. This change will remove 956 tonnes of plastic from the supply chain each year and cut water usage in production.

The update required installing new sleeving equipment on three production lines at SBF GB&I’s Coleford factory. The installation, completed in six weeks, took a total of 470 working days.

Karl Ottomar, supply chain director at SBF GB&I, commented: “As one of the biggest energy brands in the UK, producing over 3,000 bottles of Lucozade Energy per minute, this has been a complex and large-scale change for our factory. While reducing a drink’s sleeve size may sound simple, it has required a full redesign of the bottle and complete change in componentry on our production lines."

"The team have dedicated thousands of hours to plan and then successfully implement the changes on our lines and I’m so proud of their incredible commitment to this project and helping us meet our sustainability goals.”

Fraser McIntosh, head of external affairs and sustainability at SBF GB&I, commented: “This change marks a significant step forward in our journey towards achieving 100% sustainable plastic packaging across our portfolio by 2030".

"At a time when we face increasing cost pressures as a business, we continue to prioritise sustainability, demonstrating our company value of Growing for Good. It’s another major investment in our factory, helping to build a sustainable future for our brands.”

The change improves recyclability by making it easier for bottles to be sorted into the clear plastic stream at recycling centres – a key step in bottle-to-bottle recycling. Industry body Recoup confirmed the new bottle meets recyclability guidelines.

Packaging accounts for 15.5% of SBF GB&I’s Scope 3 emissions. Removing nearly 1,000 tonnes of plastic annually supports the company’s goal of cutting these emissions by 30% by 2030.

Paul East, head of packaging recycling and design at Recoup endorsed the move, adding: “Recoup are proud to have been part of the journey to redesign the Lucozade Energy bottle. This new design meets recyclability guidelines, meaning the bottles can be easily sorted at recycling centres and reduces the amount of overall plastic produced. The next step is to encourage more consumers to dispose of the bottles correctly, in the certainty that the bottle will be detected and recycled.”

The new bottles also include an embossed version of Lucozade’s “Arc” logo for better grip and brand visibility. They are now rolling out in stores.