Thatchers Vintage 2013 is the first brand from U.K.-based Thatchers Cider to feature a new lighter-weight glass bottle. The new-style 500-mL bottle, now embossed with the Thatchers name across the shoulder and featuring a slimmer neck, represents an 18% reduction in packaging weight. The bottle has been designed and produced by Ardagh Group, which has supplied Thatchers’ packaging for 15 years.
Aging in oak vats that have been standing for over 100 years gives the new 2013 Thatchers Vintage Cider a unique character that reflects Thatchers’ hands-on approach to cider making.
When Thatchers last redesigned its glass bottle, it achieved a 21% savings in weight. The Somerset cider maker will now begin to move all its 500-mL bottled ciders into the new packaging.
Says fourth-generation cider maker Martin Thatcher, “The lightweighting of our bottles is part of a sustainability program throughout the company, which includes projects such as the creation of our own energy from biomass, to the installation of our own water borehole. Creating lighter bottles makes sense—not only are there savings in energy during production, but we estimate that our full delivery loads will be 1.7 tonnes lighter.”
Thatchers has also redesigned the label for the 2013 Vintage Cider. The gold and black label, which features a picture of Thatchers founder, William John Thatcher, has been enhanced with red for increased shelf stand out, and features the 2013 International Brewing Awards Champion Cider medal.
