Coca-Cola announces partnerships with biotech cos.; Set to develop PlantBottle packaging made 100% from plant-based materials

The Coca-Cola Company today announced multi-million dollar partnership agreements with three leading biotechnology companies to accelerate development of the first commercial solutions for next-generation PlantBottle„¢ packaging made 100% from plant-based materials.

This effort to commercialize a plastic bottle made entirely from plants builds on the Company's ground-breaking introduction and roll-out of its first generation PlantBottle„¢ package which was the first ever recyclable PET beverage bottle made partially from plants. Since introduced in 2009, the Company has already distributed more than 10 billion PlantBottle„¢ packages in 20 countries worldwide.

Agreements with Virent, Gevo and Avantium - industry leaders in developing plant-based alternatives to materials traditionally made from fossil fuels and other non-renewable resources - were signed following an in-depth two year analysis of different technologies by The Coca-Cola Company's R&D team and technical advisory board.

"While the technology to make bio-based materials in a lab has been available for years, we believe Virent, Gevo and Avantium are companies that possess technologies that have high potential for creating them on a global commercial scale within the next few years," said Rick Frazier, Vice President, Commercial Product Supply, The Coca-Cola Company. "This is a significant R&D investment in packaging innovation and is the next step toward our vision of creating all of our plastic packaging from responsibly sourced plant-based materials."

Separately, Coca-Cola already produces a fully recyclable HDPE (high density polyethylene) plastic that is made 100% from plant material and is available through Odwalla„¢ juice brand products. While HDPE is an ideal package for some refrigerated juice products, it is not suitable for shelf-stable carbonated and still beverages.

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