Target Launches Paper Bottle in 1200 Stores with Own-Brand Wine

Target is the first major U.S. supermarket retailer to commission a range of wines bottled in what it says are lower-carbon paper bottles. Stakeholders claim that the move, which uses the Frugalpac Frugal Bottle format, will save the equivalent of nearly 100 tons of carbon dioxide. The outer paperboard shell, they say, is curbside recyclable. 

Packaging World previously reported on the concept with Distillery 98, Buen Vato, and Contina Fresco applucations 

Assuming the format is the same as or very similar to previous commercial rollouts, it's functionally bag-in-box. In this case, the “box” portion begins as a die-cut and geometrically creased blank of printed paperboard. Being printed paperboard, no additional labels—or labeling equipment—are necessary. The rigid bottle is formed from one flat piece of paperboard, a blank with water-based adhesive used as part of the assembly process. The paperboard is then molded around a mandrel-shaped, hollow mold that has already had the pouch inserted within. 

The Collective Good brand, which seems to be a private label-ish collab, says that is uses sustainable growing and production practice. Now, that extends to packaging, it says, as it's bottled exclusively in the paper Frugal Bottle. This format is now available in nearly 1200 of its stores across the U.S. 

The Collective Good range is a collaboration between California’s Latitude Wines (LWX), who sourced and imported the wines, and California’s Monterey Wine Company, who filled the paper bottles.

“At Monterey Wine Company pioneering innovation embracing new technologies and driving much-needed sustainability and efficiency in the wine packaging industry is written into our DNA. ... As the first U.S. producer of the Frugal Bottle, we are proud to partner with Target to bring The Collective Good wines to nearly 1,200 stores in the revolutionary paper Frugal Bottle,” says Shannon Valladarez, Monterey Wine Company’s general manager. “This launch is a testament to the collaboration of committed corporations to reduce the industry’s carbon footprint while delivering quality wines in cutting-edge, eco-friendly packaging.”

Monterey Wine Company acquired its own Frugal Bottle Machine and are producing the paper bottles on site.  The machine can produce more than 2.5 million paper Frugal Bottles a year.

“We’re incredibly proud to partner with Target to bring an innovative and sustainably focused wine brand to their guests across the U.S.,” says Graham Nordin, LWX VP, business development and sales. “Sourced from sustainably minded, quality driven wineries from around the world and then brought together in a recyclable paperboard bottle, Collective Good is committed to protecting the environment, one bottle at a time.”

Target ordered 256,000 of the Collective Good bottles to sell in their U.S. stores in a move that they say will save 98.3 US tons of CO₂e. 

Last year, Whole Foods Market stocked Bonny Doon’s Carbon..nay wine in the Frugal Bottle in a select number of its stores, but stakeholders say this is the first major rollout, and may be the first widespread U.S. consumer interaction with the format. 

Watch a brief video about about Buen Vato tequila, and watch a video about how the bottle is formed, or read more about Cantina Goccia wine and Distillery 98 vodka. The three spirits rollouts were earlier commercial applications of the Frugal Bottle format.

About the bottle and wines, according to Frugalpac and Collective GoodTarget's Collective Good brand in a Frugal Bottle by Frugalpac.

The Frugal Bottle, which was designed by British sustainable packaging company Frugalpac, is made from 94% recycled paperboard with a food-grade pouch to hold the liquid.

The company says the bottle is five times lighter than a glass bottle and uses six times less carbon and energy to produce and dispose. The carbon footprint of a standard glass wine bottle is 440 g (15.52oz) CO₂e. But a Frugal Bottle is only 91.9 g (3.23 oz) CO₂e. This means it has a carbon footprint 84% lower than glass bottles.

The Collective Good wines are Cabernet Sauvignon from California, Red Blend from Spain, Sauvignon Blanc from Chile, Pinot Grigio from Italy. In California, the winery has a dedicated wind turbine on site that generates 100% of the power needed to run the winery and also supplies renewable energy for an additional 125 local homes. In Spain, the winery practices regenerative viticulture in their vineyards which leads the soil to capture more CO₂ from the atmosphere and help reduce their overall carbon footprint. In Chile, the winery uses 100% renewable solar energy to power the winery and produce their wines. In Italy, the winery uses dry farming in their vineyards (growing grapes without irrigation), using significantly less water than traditional agriculture methods.

According to Frugal Bottle, benefits of the package format include:

• It’s lighter. The Frugal Bottle weighs just 83g so it is up to five times lighter than a normal glass bottle, making it easier to carry and lighter to transport.
• It’s better for the environment. An independent Life Cycle Analysis by Intertek found the Frugal Bottle, which is made from recycled paperboardwith no chemicals, has a carbon footprint up to six times (84%) lower than a glass bottle and more than a third less than a bottle made from 100% recycled plastic. The Frugal Bottle’s water footprint is also at least four times lower than glass.
• It’s easy to recycle again. Simply separate the plastic food-grade pouch from the paper bottle and put them in your respective recycling bins. The food grade pouch is certified recyclable and is a polyethylene metallised polyester laminate, the same material used in bag in box wines.
• It uses less plastic than a plastic bottle. The Frugal Bottle uses up to 77% less plastic. Only 15 g compared to a 64 g bottle made from 100% recycled plastic. The food grade pouch is a polyethylene metallized polyester laminate, the same material used in bag in box wines. It is recyclable, according to a press release.