3 | The Packaging and Bottling Industry
In 2010, a large share (40%) of the purchases made by
European breweries was carried out in the services sector
(including marketing and media). In 2008 also 40% was
spent on services, media and marketing. Apparently,
the economic downturn did not have a great impact on
expenditure on services, advertising and media. On the
contrary, according to the answers to our questionnaire,
nine breweries indicated that they had spent more on
media and marketing in 2010, compared with 2009.
Other important supplying sectors for breweries are
agriculture and packaging. In 2010, 19% was spent
on packaging and 17% on agricultural products.
For 2008 and 2009 these percentages were almost the
same. According to the answers to our questionnaire,
7 breweries indicated that they spent more on packaging
materials in 2010, compared to 2009. Another fve
breweries indicated that they spent more on agricultural
products in 2010. In 2010, most breweries spent less
on equipment and raw materials compared to 2009.
Packaging is essential to protect and transport beer to
the point of consumption (hospitality venues or the home).
Primary packaging includes bottles (glass or plastic),
cans (aluminum or steel), kegs (steel or aluminum), casks
(steel, aluminum or plastic) and bulk tanks (steel with
plastic liners). Secondary packaging includes multi-pack
cardboard boxes, sleeves, trays and plastic shrink wrap.
Tertiary packaging includes wooden pallets and plastic
locator boards.
Bottles
Most beer bottles sold in Europe are made of glass,
with a growing use in some regions in recent years
of plastic bottles.
The use of container glass is facilitated by the fact that it is
produced in all Member States of the European Union with
the exception of Ireland and Luxembourg. The EU is the
largest producing region for glass containers worldwide,
counting approximately 140 installations
15
.
In the questionnaire distributed among individual
breweries, information was sought on what packaging
was used. In relation to glass, 19 breweries in 13 different
countries with a joint production volume of 178 million
hectolitres of beer provided data indicating glass usage
of approximately 1 million tonnes. Further indications were
provided by a larger group of breweries (26 in 15 different
countries) on the glass origin, pointing at Germany,
Netherlands, Poland and Portugal as supply countries.
16
The emergence of plastic for beer as customer choice,
as for other drinks, comes from its lightweight, resealable,
shatter-resistant and recyclable character
17
. From the
questionnaire it was shown that 20 breweries in 15
different countries producing around 174 million hectolitres
of beer used a total of 23 thousand tonnes of plastics.
The survey identifed 14 countries as origin of this
packaging with Germany, France and Spain being
the largest providers.
Cans
Cans are commonly used to package beer. Cans for beer
are made of steel or aluminum. Packaging oof beer in
cans has been increasing in recent years, as shown in
graph 5.2 below.
15
Source : European Container Glass federation (FEVE) website, www.feve.org
16
Questionnaire breweries, Ernst and Young, 2011
17
NAPCOR, 2010
The Contribution made by Beer to the European Economy
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