Neworld, Great relationships build great brands

The world’s first flat wine bottle has been brought to our attention, as it was named one of the finalists at the 30th Awards for Packaging Innovation. The packaging team and I visited the London Packaging Innovations last year and have been on the lookout for cool packs coming through these events ever since. The inventors, Garcon Wines, produced this flat wine bottle from 100% post-consumer recycled PET – a glass-like plastic that’s used in many drinks bottles. This shatterproof material has been used to bottle wine for years and apparently the real reason for its shape was to allow the wine bottled to be delivered and fit through your postbox. The bottle was designed to endure the jolting and jarring of the bumpiest delivery service and won’t break in delivery.

By using plastic instead of glass, Garcon Wines significantly reduces shipping weight and cost, eliminates potential breakage in transit and offers a more eco-friendly packaging material solution than regular plastic or glass. This “green” wine bottle still manages to keep that classic bottle shape familiar to wine lovers which makes it appealing and doesn’t devalue the product in any way. The slender bottle stands proudly and slightly taller than the conventional glass bottles, however, some from our packaging team worry that it might be too tall and might fall over much easier than your circular based wine bottles. I believe this debate can only be resolved by getting one posted out to us…

“Designing a revolutionary new bottle is thirsty work. At Garçon Wines we’ve spared no effort to bring you a superior product. We set our hearts on developing a style fit for the 21st century that also invokes the centuries-old history of winemaking,” says Navarro from Garcon Wines. The packaging design is attractive and comes in different designs which will be exciting to receive in the post for wine drinkers. However, this will not only be used for wines but also for spirits and other liquid food and drinks. “We’ve secured our intellectual property for flat bottles across 35 of the main wine-consuming and producing countries, and we’ve got plans afoot to enter key wine and spirits markets,” he shares.

As a packaging designer, I like interacting with a kit like this that gets you wondering what else is possible when it comes to packaging design.

STEPHEN WALSH | PACKAGING DESIGNER

Stephen is a Packaging Designer with Neworld, a branding & packaging design agency with over 30 years experience. We immerse ourselves in your industry, your customers, your competitors and your business goals to create design solutions that will guarantee to boost your bottom line.