Monterey Wine Company Buys Paper Bottle Assembly Machine

Frugalpac’s Product Director JP Grogan and Commercial Manager Paula Kendall alongside a Frugal Bottle Assembly Machine and Frugal Bottles for the US market. Image courtesy of Frugalpac

US wine and spirits brands will now be able to order revolutionary low carbon paper bottles ‘Made in America’ thanks to a deal that will make California’s Monterey Wine Company the first American company to acquire the world’s only paper bottle assembly machine. Frugal bottles are made from 94% recycled paperboard with a food grade pouch and weigh just 83g before being filled, and are five times lighter than glass. This means they have a carbon footprint six times lower than glass bottles. They also offer 360° branding for exceptional, impactful shelf presence.

The food grade pouch is certified recyclable and is a polyethylene metallised polyester laminate, the same material used in bag in box wines.  The Frugal Bottle uses up to 77% less plastic than a plastic bottle, using 15g compared to a 64g bottle made from 100% recycled plastic.

Monterey Wine Company (MWC), a Californian custom wine production facility, has agreed a deal with British sustainable packaging company Frugalpac to become the first US company to buy a Frugal Bottle Assembly Machine. It’s the second paper bottle machine Frugalpac has sold for export after Canada’s KinsBrae Packaging agreed to buy the first machine in June 2022 and will now double paper bottle production in North America to five million a year.

MWC is based in the heart of the U.S. wine-production region, in King City on the Central Coast of California and is within a 200-mile radius of all of California’s main appellations, With over 80% of all U.S. wines produced in California, lightweight Frugal Bottles offer beverage producers the opportunity to radically decarbonize their bottles.

At least four North America beverage brands are using the Frugal Bottle including Michigan’s Signal 7 Wines, Florida’s Half Shell Vodka, California’s Melody Lynne and Las Vegas’ Demon Rum.

The Frugal Bottle Assembly Machine allows Frugal Bottles to be made in the heart of the winery, cutting carbon emissions further by reducing the volume of formed glass bottles transported from other manufacturing facilities. Bringing flat recycled paperboard and pouches into the winery to be assembled also reduces the number of delivery trucks. Investing in the Frugal Bottles Assembly machine also reduces shipping costs due to local manufacturing.

About Frugalpac

Frugalpac Limited is a British company developing a range of innovative sustainable packaging products. It creates and supplies recycled paper-based products with the lowest carbon footprint that are easily recycled again. More than 35 different drinks producers from around the world have launched 120 different SKUs of wines, spirits and olive oils in the Frugal Bottle. They are available in 25 countries including Japan, North America, the UK, across Europe, Scandinavia, Australia, and South Africa. 1.8 million paper bottles have been produced since 2020, saving 832 tonnes of CO2e. Learn more at www.frugalpac.com