UK minister for exports applauds Frugalpac paper bottle machine deal in California

The UK minister for exports has applauded the first sale in the USA of Frugalpac’s paper bottle machine.

California’s Monterey Wine Company, a Californian custom wine production facility, is the second paper bottle machine Frugalpac has sold for export after Canada’s KinsBrae Packaging – which is now expected to double paper bottle production in North America to five million a year.

Lord Offord, UK Minister for Exports, said: “This is brilliant news for Frugalpac whose Frugal Bottle is a great British innovation that will help the US drinks industry decarbonise. The collaboration with Monterey Wine Company is a fantastic example of how our two countries can work together to increase trade and meet our Net Zero goals.”

Malcolm Waugh, Frugalpac chief executive, said bringing flat recycled paperboard and pouches into the winery to be assembled reduces the amount of delivery trucks ‘by four’.

Frugal Bottles are made from ‘94% recycled paperboard’ with a food-grade pouch and weighing just 83g before filled and are five times lighter than glass – which the company claims means they have a carbon footprint six times lower than glass bottles, as well as ‘360° branding’ for enhanced shelf presence.

MWC is based in the US heart of wine-production, in King City on the Central Coast of California – 80% of all U.S. wines produced in California.

The brand is within a 200-mile radius of all California’s main appellations, and had already established a dedicated filling service for brands to fill Frugal Bottles for wine and spirits brands in the US.

The deal means the paper bottles will now also be made in California and MWC can offer bottle production, filling and packing in an end-to-end service for the US drinks industry.

Frugalpac said a recent poll of nearly 2,500 wine merchants and producers by ProWein found 11% of traders around the world plan to list paper wine bottles in their stores in the next two years.

This figure rose to 14% in the US, 29% of traders in the UK and a third (33%) in Norway.

Shannon Valladarez, Monterey Wine Company’s director of personnel and finance-general manager, said: “We are very proud to be the first US company to produce the revolutionary paper Frugal Bottle.

“Drinks brands around the world are looking to decarbonise and the bottle accounts for up to 50% of a wine’s carbon footprint. By moving to our Frugal Bottle, they will be able to slash the bottle’s carbon footprint by 84% and that’s a huge game changer.

“We were hugely impressed by the global success of the Frugal Bottle and felt the time was right to invest in Frugalpac’s machine so we can produce the bottles in the US, making it easier for drinks brands to move to a more sustainable packaging. We are already taking orders from drinks brands across the US and predict we will see a paper bottle revolution sweep across America.”

Waugh added: “This is a big moment not only for Frugalpac but the US drinks industry. Now American wine and spirits brands will be able to buy and fill paper bottles made in America for the first time.

“We’ve already seen several wine and spirits in North America use our paper bottle and MWC’s decision to buy our Frugal Bottle Assembly Machine means even more drinks brands will be able to make the move from glass to paper.”