Anti-plastic campaigning soda brand, GUNNA Drinks, has launched the UK’s first range of aluminium bottled soft drinks. With around 70% of soft drinks currently bottled in damaging single use plastic (SUP), it hopes the move will be a catalyst for change in the sector.
Utilising a larger, resealable 500ml format, versus a standard 330ml can, GUNNA has initially launched three immune boosting lemonades in the bottles, tapping into the burgeoning demand for functional food and drink. With aluminium being infinitely recyclable, the bottles have strong environmental credentials which when paired with their wellness proposition, align with two of the biggest consumer demands in soft drinks right now and make for a compelling proposition for retailers.
In 2022, GUNNA launched a petition for the UK government to ban plastic bottles and is swiftly making a name for itself challenging big soda brands to stop using SUP. It is estimated that an average of 35.8m plastic bottles are used every day in the UK, with only 19.8m recycled[1]. Of this, only around 10% gets recycled in the UK, while the majority is either incinerated, goes to landfill or is sent abroad[2].
Health and wellbeing are playing more of a role in consumers’ shopping choices than ever before and in line with this, GUNNA are launching five new immunity boosting sodas with added vitamin C and zinc. Three flavours – Tropical Lemonade, Raspberry Lemonade and Twisted Lemonade – will launch in the new aluminium bottles (RRP £1.99), as well as being available in 330ml cans (RRP £1.10). Aside from immune boosting benefits, which GUNNA’s own research found to be the number one health benefit consumers are looking for, each also uses high-quality, natural ingredients and is free from artificial additives.
Melvin Jay, founder of GUNNA Drinks, commented: “Putting the planet first is at the heart of GUNNA’s company ethos and we’re proud to be the first-to-market with aluminium bottled soft drinks. We’ve invested heavily in this new planet-friendly packaging and although this comes at a premium, costing around 10% more than other formats, our research resoundingly shows consumers are prepared to pay a little more to avoid plastic. Coupled with the new immune boosting sodas, we believe this is a compelling proposition for retailers, with average spend on functional wellness drinks currently more than twice the average price per litre spent on soft drinks [3]. We hope to see other brands follow suit and switch to an aluminium bottled format in place of the hugely damaging single use plastic that is all too common. We’re confident that this new packaging option will be a game-changer for our business, our customers and our planet.”
As part of its environmental credentials, GUNNA is proud to be double carbon negative, meaning it offsets 2g of carbon for every 1g that’s created making GUNNA’s drinks. Each year GUNNA also invests in The Clean Oceans Project, picking up tonnes of competitors’ plastic waste from the world’s beaches.
[1] https://www.recyclenow.com/recycle-an-item/plastic-bottles
[2] https://www.greenpeace.org.uk/news/plastic-recycling-export-incineration/
[3] https://www.conveniencestore.co.uk/promotional-features/tap-the-240m-market-for-functional-wellness-drinks/655904.article