What is ecoSIP?

• ecoSIP is the world’s smallest, lightest drinks packaging solution, weighing as little as 2.5g of packaging for a 125ml container. Modelled on the performance of 750ml glass bottles & technical corks, it protects even the most delicate wines and allows them to develop almost exactly as they would in bottle, so you can be sure the drink tastes exactly as it should, even after 6 months of storage at room temperature.

• It is made, primarily (by weight) of Aluminium, with a thin passivation layer (like a can) that keeps the metal from reacting with the drink or affecting its flavour.

• It comes either as a pouch, made of advanced, custom-built material, or this can be housed in a beautiful rectangular carton which allows for 360° branding.

Why choose ecoSIP?

• ecoSIP is potentially the biggest leap forward in wine packaging since the screw cap.

• We used first principles thinking to remove every gram of excess packaging, and challenged every assumption.

• The result? It is as efficient as you can be without compromising the quality of the drink, and it’s the best-performing alternative packaging format for wine.

• It’s so light, you have to feel it to believe it. It’s impossibly light, adding less than 3% to the weight of the liquid itself.

• There’s nothing better for the environment. We have the lowest footprint by far in manufacturing, transport and are fully-recyclable.

• For single-serve premium drinks, nothing comes close in cost or wine protection.

• We can scale easily up to the hundreds of millions of units per year.

Can you reseal it?

• ecoSIP is optimised for single-serve consumption of drinks, so there’s no cap. This isn’t a cost-saving measure; even the best of plastic caps can quickly destroy the product by allowing far too much Oxygen to damage the drink.

• One way to reseal the container is with a bag clip, readily available from Amazon (or other retailers!)

How is ecoSIP recycled?

• By weight, our packaging is up to 90% made of FSC sustainably-sourced card which can be widely recycled at home. Separate your cartons from the pouches and recycle all the paper-based products together.

• The pouch is fully-recyclable. In the UK, you can take them to most supermarkets for recycling. In other countries, you may need to check local restrictions. As most of the weight of the product is solid Aluminium, some jurisdictions allow the pouch into that recycling stream despite the small amount of plastic present.

What are the Carbon savings in manufacturing?

• To make and ship the film to our factory has an eCO2 of just 7.1g.

What are the Carbon savings in transport?

• This is hard to estimate, but as a comparison, a 6-pack ecoSIP box with 600ml of wine weighs in at <750g, whereas a 6-pack of glass bottles weighs ~2kg and is 3x as large by volume.

• DHL’s shipping carbon footprint tool estimates that the shipping CO2 emissions are 2.7x higher for the glass bottle set, based on the same distance.

Is the plastic barrier material safe?

• Yes, it’s fully certified as being safe for alcoholic products and products with high acidity (low pH) such as wine, in the UK, EU and US.

• It’s also free of BPA and any chemicals that are considered harmful for consumption.

What beverages are suitable for ecoSIP?

• Any still beverage between 0 and 60% ABV works well in ecoSIP.

How have you tested it?

• We have tested several thousand different drinks, for as long as 24 months.

• Our testing has included working with several different food and wine laboratories to validate the safety and longevity of shelf life.

• Our HACCP process identifies all the key control points which need to be tested to ensure consistency through the process and full traceability is critical to us.

Can you pack sparkling drinks?

• At present, sparkling drinks (those with dissolved CO2) are not suitable for ecoSIP.

Can you source / create beverages for us?

• Absolutely. Our team have excellent sourcing contacts across the world of beverages and can help you put together a commercially-astute offering.

How does it compare with Cans, PET and BIB?

• All forms of alternative packaging improve on the environmental footprint of glass, and have their places in the drinks world!

• The key difference between ecoSIP and these other ones is in terms of how the wine develops over the medium term – Cans tend to let in less Oxygen than a regular glass bottle, and PET / BIB more than a regular glass bottle. ecoSIP is designed to match the bottle & cork.

• ecoSIP is also considerably smaller and lighter, with an even lower carbon footprint than these formats.

How resilient is it in transit?

• Over the last 200,000 samples shipped, we have had just two failures in transit using our shipping boxes.

What is the shelf life of an ecoSIP pack?

• From the date of filling (marked on the product itself), an ecoSIP pack will taste the same as a freshly-opened bottle of the same wine for six months. Other beverages may vary and virtually all wines taste excellent even after twelve months at room temperature.

How can I get my product in ecoSIP?

• Talk to us today – it’s as simple as getting your product to our UK-based factory, and we will produce ecoSIP packs based on your requirements.

What containers can you accept drinks in?

• We can accept incoming drinks in virtually any common format, whether glass bottles, Bag-in-Box, KeyKeg, IBC or Flexi container.

• We have a strong preference for shipping in larger containers as there is less in-bound inspection required, less variation and the lifecycle carbon footprint is reduced. This reduced labour cost is reflected in the final price.

How do you ensure the quality of the incoming drink?

• It is incredibly important to check the incoming drink, especially for older wine under natural corks, where there may be a high level of bottle variation.

• We will test all incoming wine to make sure no bad containers go into your batch, potentially ruining all of it. This is a standard, included service.

What sizes are possible?

• We can fill any size from 25ml to 125ml in our off-the-shelf container sizes. Larger sizes may be available according to demand.

• Be aware of your local laws concerning what sizes you are permitted to sell on; for example some countries only permit 50 / 100 or 187ml for still wine.

What is the Minimum Order Quantity?

• Our normal MOQ is 100 units per SKU, however we can run trial batches in smaller volumes when factory availability is not an issue.

• Off-the-shelf packaging is available and can be customised with stickers.

• Fully-custom packaging has higher MOQs, and can be discussed based on requirements, but is typically 1000+ units.

How customisable is the artwork?

• Film can be customised with CMYK+W printing, either digital or flexographic, on a silver substrate, allowing the use of metallic effects. Soft-touch finishes are also available. Contact us for MOQs on custom-printed film.

• Cartons can be created based on your artwork, or for a small fee we can help you transfer your art to an ecoSIP carton. Templates are available. White or natural material can be used, as can CMYK or spot colour printing, including Pantone® metallic inks and eco foiling that preserves the recyclability. These are Lithographically-printed.

• Corrugated shipping boxes are also fully customisable, with templates available for common configurations such as 3-packs or 6-packs. These can use either natural or white finish and are typically 1-colour or 2-colour flexographic printing.

Can you fit samples through a letterbox?

• Absolutely. At just 22mm thick, our 3-pack will fit through virtually any letterbox, while our 6-pack (also 22mm thick) fits neatly within a Royal Mail Large Letter format, so fits into virtually any letterbox capable of taking an A4 format letter.

What pack types are available?

• We have a wide range of pack types available, whether letterbox or small parcel format.

• We generally work with 3, 6, 12 or 24 samples per pack, but other numbers can be accommodated.

• We have off-the-shelf designs for advent calendars and gift sets in solid board as well.

What is a Trivino® pack?

• Trivino is our 12-pack variety set that features an open front, displaying the artwork of four of the ecoSIP portions, for a truly attention-grabbing shelf presence that lets the customer see the contents.

Can packs include other items such as snacks or literature?

• Absolutely. Our standard 6-pack letterbox format boxes have space and weight allowance for an A4 folded brochure in a weighty card.

• We can also supply trays that fit into the space usually taken by an ecoSIP sample, allowing you to put snacks into the box

• We’re also always happy to apply stickers or put other items into the boxes.

Can I make my own secondary packaging?

• For sure – get as creative as you like! The ecoSIP cartons have a simple shape making it easy to put them together in new and exciting structures.

• They’re also so strong that you need far less protective secondary packaging, making it a doddle to build something that really stands out.

Can you design fully-custom packaging for us?

• Our team has several specialists in custom-built packaging options and we would be delighted to quote for a custom design.

Where are you based?

• Our facility is in Leighton Buzzard, UK. This is just outside London (30 minutes on the train) and close to the M1 motorway for easy logistics, especially to the numerous transport hubs located around Milton Keynes.

Can I tour / audit your facility?

• We’d be delighted to show you around, provided we don’t have any confidential projects running at that time. Get in touch to arrange a suitable time.

How many samples / packs fit on a pallet?

• This somewhat depends on the packaging choices made, however a good estimate is that ~3250 ecoSIP cartons in bulk shipping boxes will fit on a standard pallet (1m x 1.2m stacked 2m high).

How do you ship the finished products?

• We have two options for shipping;

  • Bulk shipping to your warehouse, either on pallet or in corrugated boxes (DHL).

  • Shipping direct to consumer via Royal Mail or DHL.

  • We can also hold stock for you and drop ship when needed, or arrange for collection by your preferred courier.

Can you ship wine outside of the UK?

• At present, this is only done on special request, owing to the complexities of international alcohol shipping, particularly into the EU.

• Feel free to organise your own logistics and collect from our factory.

Can we talk about an ecoSIP production line in our facility?

• Please get in touch to discuss this. Costs vary dramatically based on the production throughput received, and are substantial. Not all locations may be suitable.

Can we get samples of the packaging?

• We’d be delighted to provide these. Have a chat with us so we can send the most suitable examples, both of the physical format but also packaged drinks so you can assess the quality.

Can you pack up my product so we can test the quality?

• Most of the year we are delighted to do this for free. The only exception is around the lead-up to December as we are generally flat out making Christmas products.

How fast can you turn around a project?

• When we have spare production capacity, this can be in as little as a week, but is typically 1 month.

• Lead times on custom packaging, especially film, may be considerably longer.

What is your production capacity?

• At present, we can produce up to 200,000 portions of wine per month. We will shortly be expanding this considerably.

Can you store my wine / packaging?

• Short-term storage of your wine and packaging is included in the costs of the project. We aim to store your product for as little time as possible so you get your return as quickly as possible.

• Longer-term storage may be possible; we charge market rates per pallet / week.

Are your processes and designs protected?

• Our revolutionary process is patent-pending. We have design protection on our carton design and both ecoSIP® and Trivino® are registered trademarks.

Is ecoSIP part of any Deposit Return Scheme?

• At present, ecoSIP is exempt from any DRS scheme requirements, owing to its low weight and carbon footprint.

What are the savings on EPR taxes?

• The UK’s EPR tax scheme will add around 20p per bottle in 2025 for 750ml glass bottles in typical cardboard 6-pack boxes.

• For 6 x 125ml ecoSIP pouches, plus an equivalent shipping box, we estimate the fee would be at least 82% lower.

Is your warehouse bonded?

• At present, no. We’re happy to discuss arranging this if required.

Are you licenced?

• Yes, we have our licenses for alcohol storage / sales and also our AWRS wholesaling licence (XFAW00000118742)

Any other questions?

• Drop us a line with your hardest questions, or arrange a call with us.