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AB InBev Revolutionizes Beer Six-Pack Using Barley Straw Waste

In this exclusive interview with Mundo PMMI, AB InBev's Global Director of Packaging Innovation, Keenan Thompson, explains their recent development of a truly circular packaging for its beer six-pack using barley straw as a raw material.

Corona Six-Pack Carrier Employs Barley Straw Waste for Sustainable Break-Through
The six-pack box is produced without felling virgin trees and using up to 90% less water, less energy and fewer harsh chemicals vs traditional pulping processes.

Intensive research work carried out over more than three years at the world´s leading brewer AB InBev’s Global Innovation and Technology Center is marking a milestone today in the development of sustainable packaging. Taking advantage of leftover material from barley harvests, an essential ingredient in beer production, and combining it with fully recycled wood fibers, the company created high-resistance six-pack boxes of its Corona brand beers. The six-pack box is produced without felling virgin trees and using up to 90% less water, less energy and fewer harsh chemicals vs traditional pulping processes.

AB InBev launched the new six-pack box in Colombia in March with an initial output of 10,000 units, and will introduce it soon to other markets around the world. Corona teams in Canada, Chile and Mexico have shown their enthusiasm for the initiative and want to run pilots before year’s end. Consumer acceptance was also very positive, as reflected in opinions on social media after interacting with the packaging in stores, as told to Mundo PMMI by Antonella Babino, Corona's Global Director.

Colombian Launch of Corona SixPack Features Sustainability Break-ThroughAB InBev launched the new six-pack box in Colombia in March with an initial output of 10,000 units, and will introduce it soon to other markets around the world.

The leader of this project is Keenan Thompson, Global Director of Innovation for AB InBev. He combines his vision and experience as a mechanical engineer with a specialization in International Business, to permanently create platforms that enhance materials, structural design and technological innovation and shape the future of the beverage packaging industry. Thompson applies his experience in marketing, innovation, engineering and development to approach business problems from a new perspective, deconstructing value chains and connecting technology with the needs of customers, vendors and retailers to create new ideas and bring them to life. Mundo PMMI spoke with him to learn about the background and development projections for the new AB InBev circular packaging for Corona beers.

Mundo PMMI: In terms of packaging circularity, taking advantage of the same raw materials used in beer and its waste to produce packaging looks like a very impressive innovation.

Non-wood fibers from barley straw waste for Corona Six-Pack in Colombia“The biggest challenge was achieving excellent performance. We started with the performance we already had, and found that we could achieve that and more. We are very excited about the future and the contribution that non-wood fibers can make to sustainable packaging”, Keenan Thompson.

Keenan Thompson: Yes. A circular economy is certainly the main objective, and this technology platform will take advantage of things that used to be waste materials in our processes. It is a network that really makes sense: with the grain we make the beer and the straw is there to be used and taken for paper processing. We are creating a circular economy not only with straw, but also by giving new life to recycled cardboard. We help recycling progress so we do not have to use as many trees, and at the same time we provide barley straw to replace some of those fibers. It is one of those projects that you can honestly be proud of, because all the right things are being done for consumer convenience, business viability, and to develop really clean technology.

Mundo PMMI: What does it mean to you to lead the team that developed this circular packaging? Why do you consider this to be such an important step towards circular economy?

We like our work to have a big impact, developing products that are right for the consumer, good for business, and environmentally friendly. This technology space has been in development for a few decades, to get involved three years ago and help bring it to life for the consumer, has been extremely rewarding for the team. Now we see this initiative come to life. We learned a lot along the way, and I believe that continuing to learn and being able to help move the industry in the right direction are factors that make this project so rewarding.

Corona Six-Pack Carrier Employs Barley Straw Waste for Sustainable Break-ThroughThe six-pack box is produced without felling virgin trees and using up to 90% less water, less energy and fewer harsh chemicals vs traditional pulping processes.

Mundo PMMI: Is the new packaging similar to the old one? Do they involve any aesthetic change?

Aesthetically, they look a little different, and we did that on purpose, so the consumers would understand that we made a change. That´s one of the great things about packaging, it is an incredible canvas for marketers to communicate with consumers. We removed the white coating, so Corona adjusted their branding graphics. In the future we can decide to produce packaging that looks exactly the same, or we could make it visually differentiated. The goal is that the packages behave the same as their predecessors. We do not necessarily want to change that unless, of course, we find some aspect that makes them work even better. In short, the goal is for them to perform the same or better.

Mundo PMMI: You have surely faced great technological challenges in the last three years. What were these main challenges, and what has been the path towards this development?

In the past year, the biggest challenge was traveling and getting our team together in the right places, even focusing on virtual trials, ideation workshops and team meetings and the like. In addition, we are impacting the entire value chain, from obtaining the fibers to their transformation into pulp, their entry into paper machines, the search for the precise mix and achieving the right quality, plus all the aspects we must comply with in the field of beverage packaging.

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