An Ipswich company which pioneered the world's first commercially available paper wine bottle, has been nominated for awards in innovation and sustainability.
Frugalpac was founded four years ago, originally creating a recyclable cup made from recycled paper, and in June 2020 launched its very first Frugal Bottle.
With unlimited options for cool 360 degree graphic designs, the bottle is made from 94% recycled paperboard with a food-grade liner to hold the wine or spirit.
It's nearly five times lighter than a normal glass bottle, weighing 88 grams compared with up to 500 grams — saving carbon costs on transport.
The company, based in Wharfedale Road, is up for up for Best Sustainable Packaging in the World Food Innovation Awards next week on Tuesday, March 23.
It's also up for the Innovations in Packaging award in the Footprint Drinks Sustainability Awards on Thursday, March 25.
Chief executive Malcolm Waugh joined the venture over two years ago and said the Frugal Bottle was born out of a realisation the younger generations aren't as interested in wine as their parents or grandparents.
"For younger people this is a great product because it's good for the environment and that's something that's really fashionable at the moment," he explained.
"But it's also great for parents and older generations who want to make sure they're also being environmentally friendly for their children and grandchildren.
"The bottle separates really easily and the liner can pulled out to go into plastic recycling and then the outer shell goes into paper recycling — the paper can be recycled about seven times."
Frugalpac is manufacturing a machine to mass produce the bottles and has already identified a Suffolk company to go into production with.
The idea is then any company can buy those machines and have their own paper bottles, with any branding they like.
Previous custom designs have featured abstract artwork, portraits and slogans.
Mr Waugh said it's been really important to the company to have in-house construction of the products and has ambitions for the business to become more well known in Suffolk.
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