Marks & Spencer shifts wine into small, portable PET bottles

A big trend in beverage packaging is shifting drinks into packages that are lighter and more portable for consumers—and that also benefit the environment. In the U.K., it’s even occurring in wine.

Marks & Spencer is changing over from glass to PET for its 25cl still wines. The reasons, the company told the Daily Telegraph, are consumer convenience and eco-friendliness. Consumers want lighter, easy-to-carry bottles for picnics or a long train journey. Each PET bottle contains enough wine for two glasses.

As Marks & Spencer demonstrates, wine is fast moving away from its stodgy past and, in some cases, infusing more fun into the category. Wine, as well as other categories such as beer, is seeing an influx of both a variety of decorated labels. Wine shoppers also are being introduced to containers other than the category’s traditional bottles. For Marks & Spencer, the smaller bottles account for 6% of its wine sales—100,000 mini bottles a week.

The bottles are 88% lighter than the glass bottles, and the company says it will save an estimated 525 tons of packaging material each year.