Following a trend set by other major brewers worldwide, Philippine food and beverage giant San Miguel Corp. plans to introduce San Miguel beer in PET bottles in 2004.
Tests on the packaging have been…
Following a trend set by other major brewers worldwide, Philippine food and beverage giant San Miguel Corp. plans to introduce San Miguel beer in PET bottles in 2004. Tests on the packaging have been carried out over recent months and a formal launch would be made in the 3Q, according to a source at the company. The San Miguel source said mass production would begin after June 2004, when minority shareholder Kirin Brewery of Japan delivers the equipment to make the plastic bottles airtight, which is crucial to maintaining the quality of the beer. The source said the huge capital investment in the bottling equipment would be worthwhile, considering the cost to the company of producing and reusing bottles. The multi-serve plastic beer bottles will not be returnable. “It will benefit us in terms of cost. Moreover, the PET [polyethylene terephthalate] bottles that we will come up with will not just be used for beer but also for a wide array of products from softdrinks, juices, etc.,” the source said. San Miguel follows the lead set by other brewers that have adopted plastic bottles as canned beer sales have fallen. Milwaukee-based Miller Brewing has started selling Miller Lite, Miller Genuine Draft and Icehouse in 20- ounce and one-liter plastic bottles. They were sold initially in stores and stadiums in Los Angeles, Miami, Dallas and San Antonio, Texas. German brewer Holsten was also reportedly planning to start using plastic bottles, although Danish brewer Carlsberg gave up on plastic after consumer resistance and problems with preserving drink quality. However, San Miguel is not letting Carlsberg“s experience deter it, according to the source. Analyst Bienvenido Oplas of Think Tank, Inc. said the move could improve San Miguel“s bottomline. “Glass bottles are more expensive than plastic and if San Miguel has already partnered with a reliable plastic supplier, then the better it could adjust the price,” he said. He also said plastic bottles were more convenient, particularly in locations where glass was not an option. Consumers who transport beer products would also benefit from the new packaging, he said. But San Miguel should ensure that beer taste quality would not suffer, he added. The source insisted plastic bottles would not affect the reputation of San Miguel“s world-class beer. “We considered all these arguments when we were studying this,” he said. In 2003 San Miguel expressed interest in buying Australia“s ACI Plastics Packaging, whose Petalite plastic bottle and recycling operation made use of an oxygen-scavenging bottle top that increased the shelf life of beer in plastic bottles.