Britvic announces on-the-go bottles to be 100% recycled plastic

Ahead of Recycle Week, Britvic has announced that a number of its brands will be moving to 100 per cent rPET (recycled plastic), across single serve 500ml and/or 600ml bottles, by the end of September. This includes Pepsi MAX, 7UP Free, Tango, Lipton, Robinsons Ready to Drink and Drench, with Mountain Dew also following suit in December 2022. The change will be supported with clear on-pack messaging across selected brands, in-store and outlet activation via POS materials and a new TV advert from Pepsi MAX.

“At Britvic, we’ve announced our intention that all bottles produced and sold by us in GB will be made from 100% rPET by the end of 2022," said Tom Fiennes, Commercial Sustainability Director at Britvic. "We have already made huge progress towards this goal, but are pleased to confirm the next step in achieving our target, making the change across leading brands and in time for Recycle Week.”

Additionally, to gather insight around consumers changing habits and brand preferences based on sustainability credentials, Britvic commissioned independent research that revealed the majority of Brits (80 per cent) think it is important that manufacturers and brands use recycled plastic, with over half (58 per cent) stating they are more likely to choose a soft drink brand that communicates its use of 100 per cent rPET on-pack, than those that don’t.

“The research we’ve commissioned gives us further insight into consumer habits and how these are impacted by sustainable efforts on behalf of manufacturers, retailers and foodservice outlets. It also reveals that 60% of Brits will return to a specific store if they stock products that use recycled plastic2. This goes to show how important it is for retailers, and operators, to offer a range of sustainable products and that this can affect shopper loyalty," added Fiennes.

“To further support our trade customers, we’re not only proud to be delivering action, but also helping them to generate sales at point of purchase through the on-pack communications on our move to 100 per cent rPET, and POS materials. We have also invested in a fully integrated single serve campaign, which will lead with Pepsi MAX – appearing on social, TV and OOH.”

Lipton Ice Tea was the first to make the change, with 100 per cent rPET 500ml bottles on shelves this summer. They are the first bottles to use Esterpet packaging following Britvic’s £5m investment support in Esterform’s rPET manufacturing facility in 2019. Each bottle will state its 100 per cent recycled plastic credential clearly on pack, helping consumers make informed decisions on their purchases.