The new EARL bottle offers the apothecary shape preferred by gin-makers. It is elegant without an exceptionally heavy base. This 600g container weighs 25% less than a typical craft gin bottle. The tall neck and flat, cork mouth finish are features valued by craft distillers.
The development follows O-I’s customer-centric approach to respond to customer needs.
“Craft gin is a boom market for distillers”, says O-I UK country director, Jim Rankine.
“A recent survey showed 35 new distilleries opened in England last year and a further 18 in Scotland. These new distillers need low volume, high quality, premium style glass packaging. We believe it’s much better to supply these bottles here in the UK rather than as imports and that’s exactly the niche the EARL bottle will fit into.”
O-I is determined to provide distillers with as much variety as possible. It will produce the EARL range in Scotland in amber, black, green, blue, white flint and extra flint (ultra-clear) glass – a wider range of colours than made by any other glassmaker in the UK for this kind of container. The craft gin boom is being driven by millennials. They seek authentic, locally sourced products.
“Packaging is a vital factor” says Paul McLavin, marketing and product development lead for O-I UK:
"Craft spirit is premium, but it is also important that it is sustainable. The generations who have popularised craft spirits are the same ones who put sustainability near the top of their value sets.”
The inert nature of glass ensures that the consumer receives precisely the same, great tasting gin which was created by the connoisseur distillers across the country. EARL provides the feel-good factor and great taste they are looking for in an aristocratic package.
Notes
For more information on EARL and O-I’s other support for the craft spirits market, contact Louise Cairns in O-I Sales on 01259 218822 or e-mail louise.cairns@eu.o-i.com
Owens-Illinois, Inc. (NYSE: OI) is the world's largest glass container manufacturer. They employ more than 27,000 people at 80 plants in 23 countries. With global headquarters in Perrysburg, Ohio, O-I delivers safe, sustainable, pure, iconic, brand-building glass packaging to a growing global marketplace. For more information, visit www.o‑i.com
