Page 28 - Packaging News magazine March_April 2023

FOOD & DRINK PACKAGING
Wallaby up for a win?
Australian canned water company Wallaby’s newly released resealable aluminium bottle is up for an award, but the company’s investment in the bottle innovation and filling plant is part of a bigger plan and success story. PKN reports.
Above: Resealable and recyclable: Wallaby’s new aluminium water bottle. 28 ❙ MARCH – APRIL 2023
WALLABY WAS THE first to market with a water in aluminium packaging when it launched in partner- ship with Cotton Group in 2019. Since then, the company launched its own Wallaby branded water in cans, and more recently in a resealable alumin- ium bottle, filled with spring water from Mount Buninyong, Victoria.
With the anti-plastic consumer senti- ment running high, the new packaging has been well received in the market, and in a recent win the company was contracted to supply the aluminium bottled water to City of Sydney for the recent Sydney Mardi Gras and World Pride festivities.
In further good news, the resealable bottle has scored Wallaby a nomi- nation as a finalist in the Beverage Packaging Design category in the 2023 Australasian Packaging Innovation & Design Awards.
The shift to the new packaging has required some investment, with Wallaby spending $500,000 on specialised cap- ping equipment to cap the bottles with wide-mouth ROPP (roll on pilfer proof) 38mm aluminium closures.
The new capping line was sourced via the Japanese supplier which man- ufactures and prints the bottle, and is installed at Wallaby's filling plant at Truganina, Victoria. The investment will enable the production of 120 bot- tles per minute with a line capacity of ~14 million units per annum.
Wallaby says it intends to develop larger format containers between 600- 750ml by Q3 2023 and up to 1.25L by 2025. The company plans to offer contract packaging services for a wide range of beverages in aluminium bottles in the future.
Dominic Goldsworthy, founder and director of Wallaby, told PKN the
company had been selected by Coles for a 'Coles Exclusive' multi-pack of their 375ml canned water and is in dis- cussions with other major retailers for their new 400ml and future aluminium bottle sizes. The exclusive format for Coles will roll out across 600+ stores from May 2023.
Commenting on the sustainabil- ity credentials of the packaging, Goldsworthy says, “With the goals set by APCO's 2025 National Packaging Targets, now is the time for companies to design innovation that shows com- mitment to sustainable packaging and the national targets.”
Now is the time for companies to design innovation that shows commitment to sustainable packaging...
DOMINIC GOLDSWORTHY, WALLABY
He adds, “Wallaby’s resealable alu- minium bottle ticks 9 out of 10 of the Sustainable Packaging Guidelines, car- ries the Australian Recycling Label, and provides a no-frills solution that con- sumers can easily implement without any changes to existing infrastructure.”
The company claims introducing the 400ml aluminium bottle of spring water will save an estimated 15+ tonnes of plastic in the first year. To date, Wallaby says it has replaced over five million plastic bottles with its pull- ring canned water, produced at a rate of approximately three million contain- ers per year and growing. ■
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