100% recyclable KeelClipTM cardboard packaging replaces shrink foil on Coca-Cola aluminium can multipacks – Domestic plastic usage is reducing by 230 tons per year due to the new development

Budapest, 23 March 2022 – Coca-Cola Hungary has reached another milestone on the road to a World Without Waste: the company is replacing the previous shrink foil used for its multipacks of 4 and 6 aluminium cans, with the 100 percent recyclable and innovative KeelClip^TM cardboard packaging technology.

Instead of shrink foil, KeelClip™ technology uses a strong cardboard lid to hold the aluminium cans sold in 4 and 6-packs together. The cover is made of recyclable cardboard that the consumers can use conveniently. With the investment of more than 800 million forints (2,3 million euros), the company will reduce its plastic usage in Hungary by nearly 230 tons per year.

„We have improved the packaging of our soft drinks many times in the past few years to enable us to introduce more sustainable solutions. Thanks to our packaging innovations, the amount of plastic needed to make our PET bottles has been reduced by 20 percent in recent years, since 2020 we are using nearly 170 tons less aluminium per year for of our aluminium cans, and we have also reduced the amount of our secondary packaging materials. Developing innovative packaging solutions is also an important part of our strategy: we have recently introduced our paper bottle prototype and the KeelClip^TM technology, which is now being introduced, is also a part of this initiative. With the introduction of KeelClip^TM we are taking another important step closer to a World Without Waste.” – said László Békefi, the Managing Director of Coca-Cola HBC Hungary.

The raw material of the 100 percent recyclable cardboard used for KeelClip^TM packaging comes from a sustainable, responsible forestry and certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), which guarantees that the marketed products meet the requirements of environmentally and socially responsible production and manufacturing.

With the investment of 15 million euros by the Coca-Cola HBC Group and with the introduction of KeelClip^TM packaging innovation for The Coca-Cola Company-owned brands in all of its markets in the European Union, the plastic usage will be reduced by approximately 2000 tons per year at Group level.

Photos: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1sbi3XskuosjjVT2Fn-3EDUChad-qCpmu?usp=sharing

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Juli Szegedi                                                                                          György Márton

+36303385434                                                                                    +36209312233

julia.szegedi@lwp.hu                                                                         martongyorgy@lwp.hu

Coca-Cola Hungary

Coca-Cola has been present in Hungary since 1968, the company’s domestic production began in 1996. So far the Coca-Cola Hungary has invested 120 billion forints in Hungary.

The Coca-Cola Company is a beverage company producing a full portfolio of soft drinks, which markets more than 500 carbonated and non-carbonated brands in more than 200 countries around the world. The company is continuously shaping its portfolio, reducing the sugar content of its products and making significant efforts to reduce its ecological footprint by recovering the water used in beverage production, making improvements in packaging technology and promoting recycling.

The bottler of Coca-Cola Hungary is Coca-Cola HBC Hungary, a company that operates twp bottling plants in Hungary, employs 1,050 people and provides jobs for nearly 13,000 people in its entire operations. The company is one of the largest one of the most important Hungarian food processing companies, it exports its products to 26 countries. Nearly two-thirds of the raw materials used to make soft drinks are provided by domestic suppliers.

Thanks to the continuous product development over the past years, Coca-Cola HBC Hungary now offers more than 100 types of non-alcoholic beverages to its consumers: carbonated soft drinks (Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola light, Coca-Cola zero, Coca-Cola lemon, orange and vanilla, Fanta, Fanta zero, Sprite, Sprite zero, Kinley, Royal Bliss), natural mineral waters (NaturAqua), flavoured waters (NaturAqua Emotion, Aquarius), innovative water drinks (Smartwater), juices, nectars and fruit drinks (Cappy, Cappy Pulpy, Cappy Junior, Cappy Lemonade, Cappy+), ice teas (FuzeTea, FuzeTea zero), sport drinks (Powerade), energy drinks (Monster, Burn) and plant-based drinks (AdeZ) are also part of the portfolio. As of May 2020, the company’s product portfolio includes the Rainforest Alliance certified premium Costa Coffee, and this year its offering has already been expanded with the Caffé Vergnano brand. The company also sells premium spirits, including Rézangyal, Jack Daniel’s, Finlandia, Bacardi, The Famous Grouse and Campari.