From 241 to 725 million dollars in 2030: this will be the trend of the canned wine business, which continues to grow. In the UK, Waitrose is going to use it for small formats, eliminating the glass.

Although relatively little appreciated in Italy, canned wine is increasingly a global phenomenon. Confirmations in this sense come on several fronts. In 2021, the market segment of canned wine was estimated at 241 million dollars and by 2030 it could reach 725 million dollars, with a growth of 13% per year, according to a survey by “Straits Research”.

Even if it has not yet seduced the purists, canned wine is very popular with the younger generations, gaining new market shares. In fact, canned wine can count on: simplicity of use and consumption, environmental sustainability, better protection of the contents from light, convenience in managing the furnishings and excellent advantages for marketing and label communication.

There are already numerous companies that are investing in this direction and important international publications, such as “Wine Spectator”, are dedicating an increasing amount of space and reviews to canned wines.

SUSTAINABILITY IS THE KEY

The real turning point for the affirmation of canned wines, as well as the essential improvement in terms of quality, is linked to sustainability, albeit with the different specificities of the reference markets.

An example comes from the British large-scale retail giant WaitRose which, at the beginning of the year, declared that it will replace all smaller formats of wine (from half bottles down, with the exception of Champagne, Prosecco, Cava and Rioja). The goal is to have lighter packaging that is easier to recycle and that produces less CO2 (especially in terms of logistics). In this way up to 320 tons of packaging material will be saved and the resulting “carbon footprint” will be significantly reduced.

This is certainly a significant change in a market where private label wine is strong and made up of realities of depth. About 30 million smaller packages of wine than the 0.75-litre bottle were sold last year alone.

THE SWEDISH CASE

If this is the trend in the UK, in the Scandinavian markets, especially in Sweden, managed by the monopoly agency Systembolaget, at least for a portion of imported wine the alternative to glass will be mandatory.

Systembolaget has declared that by the end of 2023 it will cut the climate footprint of its packaging by 10%.

Many customers who buy bottled wine will have to opt for packaging, such as cardboard, PET or cans, which have a lower climate impact.

A note from the same agency the use of cardboard packaging is recommended, as well as the use of cans., because aluminium is light and presents a high level of recyclability: 75% of all aluminium that has been produced in the world is still in use.

These signs testify to the ongoing change and cannot be ignored by a country like Italy.

These changes could have significant repercussions on companies engaged in the can packaging segment, starting with Ecocap’s.