Coca-Cola announces partnerships with biotech cos.; Set to develop 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.