Miller's Plastic Beer Bottle Goes National

Miller Brewing Co. today announced the much-anticipated national rollout of its plastic beer bottle, which the company says is fully recyclable. Starting next week and coinciding with the St. Patrick's Day holiday, Miller Lite, Miller Genuine Draft and Icehouse beer will be available in proprietary plastic 16-oz and 20-oz bottles.

After extensive test market efforts, the Miller bottles become the first and, so far, only plastic beer bottles available for widespread retail distribution in the United States. The containers, which have been in test since October 1998, are now available in places such as stores, bars and sports arenas across the country. Anheuser-Busch has thus far only experimented with plastic beer bottles.

"Plastic bottles represent one of the biggest breakthroughs in the beer world in years and have been met with an overwhelmingly positive response," says Bob Mikulay, Miller's senior vice president of marketing. "Once legal-drinking-age consumers have had a chance to see the Miller plastic bottle, to touch it, to experience that the beer tastes just as good in plastic as in glass, they have been very excited about this new package."

The Miller multilayer plastic bottle, coinjection stretch-blow-molded by Continental PET Technologies (Florence, KY), is reportedly a five-layer construction of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and nylon into which an oxygen scavenger is dispersed for barrier. The bottle, says Mikulay, appeals to adult consumers for a variety of reasons: it keeps beer cold longer than aluminum cans and as long as glass bottles; it is one-seventh the weight of comparably sized glass bottles; and it is resealable and unbreakable.

The Milwaukee-based brewer says the proprietary multi-layer design ensures product freshness and drinkability and allows the bottle to be recycled with other PET packages. Beginning this summer, the Miller plastic bottle will become the first nationally distributed plastic carbonated beverage container to use post-consumer resin (PCR) material.

Also this summer, the company reports, Miller plastic bottles will include new plastic caps and new labels, both designed to further enhance the package's acceptance with current PET recycling streams.

Mikulay adds that the plastic beer bottles have been especially successful where glass bottles aren't as convenient or allowed, such as beaches, pools, patios and stadiums. "With the popularity of St. Patrick's Day, this provides the perfect opportunity to kick-off the national rollout of Miller's plastic bottles."

To date, Miller plastic bottles have been sold in more than 20 National Football League stadiums, 12 Major League Baseball parks and eight NBA/NHL arenas, as well as many other high visibility events such as Woodstock '99 and the last two Super Bowls.

On the downside, Mikulay says consumers may have to pay "slightly" higher prices. However, Miller research shows that 85% of consumers who have tried plastic bottles will buy them again.

While glass or cans will remain the dominant beer packages, Mikulay suspects plastic bottles could represent "2% of our business."

Point-of-purchase and in-store displays will support the rollout, and Miller is considering a TV, print and radio campaign.

Edited by Bill Noone