Supermarkets take different route with greener packaging

After trialling two own-label wines in PET for three months, Sainsbury’s is putting them back into glass because it is worried that they won’t sell fast enough during the winter for the wine to stay fresh. Tesco, on the other hand, is sticking with the plastic bottles, which gives the wine a shelf life of only nine months.

Howard Winn, product technologist for beers, wines and spirits at Sainsbury’s, told ThirtyFifty that, although the customer response to the PET wines was very good, there is a big seasonal skew for the amount of white and rosé wines sold against red. He said, ‘Rose sales double in the summer and light, aromatic and fruity white wines are also more in demand.’ So the wines – a Sauvignon Blanc and a rosé – will go into plastic during the summer months and into glass the rest of the year, he explained.

Tesco, however, didn’t introduce its PET-packaged Green Label Wolf Blass range on a trial basis, so it is sticking with the plastic bottles all year round. And even though the range includes a white wine – a Chardonnay, the retailer isn’t worried that volumes will be so slow that wines will go past their best.

And this month it is also launching two one-litre Banrock Station Tetra Paks to increase its range of products in more environmentally-friendly packaging. Like PET, Tetra Paks have a short shelf life, of around nine to 12 months.