Will Target’s New Paper Wine Bottles Kick Off a Sustainability Trend in Alcoholic Beverage Packaging?

Target has been the center of many contemporary debates and pressing issues as of late, from its on-again, off-again DEI policies to its notable collaborations with designer label Kate Spade and grocery up-and-comer ButcherBox.

Now, however, it appears that Target is pressing forward with a renewed commitment to sustainability via the launch of its Collective Good wine lineup, according to Packaging Gateway. With the label proudly bearing the motto of “sustainably produced wine,” it’s seemingly backing up this marketing by being presented in a paper “Frugal Bottle” produced by Frugalpac.

The Frugal Bottle is manufactured using 94% recycled paperboard and contains a food-grade pouch to store the contents. Collective Good wine will be launching in four varieties: a Cabernet Sauvignon from California, a red blend from Spain, a Sauvignon Blanc from Chile, and an Italian Pinot Grigio.

“The U.S. has been a real trailblazer in our paper bottle revolution. Their wines and spirits brands were amongst the first to move to the Frugal Bottle and it’s clear there’s an increasing market for people who want to drink more sustainably,” Frugalpac CEO Malcolm Waugh said.

“We’re proud to see Target making this commitment to stocking the Collective Good in all their retail outlets. It’s a big endorsement for sustainable low carbon packaging that can deliver great taste but less waste,” he continued.

The wines launched in 1,200 U.S. Target stores in mid-April, coinciding with Earth Month. Frugalpac claims that the bottle produced a carbon footprint 84% lower than its traditional glass counterpart, weighs five times less than a glass bottle, uses 77% less plastic than a plastic bottle, and is easily recyclable by separating the pouch from the packaging. Target ordered more than a quarter-million bottles of the wine for its initial rollout of the Collective Good label (256,000 bottles in fact), displaying a note of confidence in the brand’s sales potential.

As Packaging Gateway outlined, the Collective Good wine range is a collaborative effort made between California-based Latitude Wines, which sourced and imported the wines, and Monterey Wine Company, which then filled the Frugal Bottles used.

Target’s Collective Good Wine Is Not the First To Be Served in Paper Bottles (at Least Stateside)

And while Target may be the first major U.S. retailer to deliver a paper-bottled wine to store shelves in a big way, Frugalpac worked with ALDI in the UK to launch its own private label wine delivered in the more sustainable packaging in 2024.

But how did first impressions go? According to reporter Emilia Kettle, writing for The Oxford Mail, quite well in fact.

“Using just two pieces of paperboard, a food-grade pouch and a plastic nozzle and cap, the bottle just seemed perfect. It was much lighter than your typical glass bottle, and being my clumsy self, when I accidentally knocked the bottle over, it was still in perfect condition and I couldn’t see any way it could cut or harm someone,” Kettle began.

Both wines sampled by Kettle passed the taste test, with ALDI offering a Cambalala South African Shiraz and a Cambalala South African Sauvignon Blanc.

“Although more of a Merlot fan than a Shiraz, I was pleasantly surprised by the Cambalala South African Shiraz. The sweet but oaky taste of red fruits, blackberry and cherry was perfect, not too strong or overpowering, just right,” she said of the former.

And of the Sauvignon Blanc?

“Its fruity fresh taste of melon, green apples and citrus made it feel like a summer evening on a dark wet spring night. The acidity was not too strong and was balanced well thanks to the fresh taste of the fruit, it worked perfectly with a chicken salad,” Kettle concluded.

If American wine connoisseurs take to Target’s Collective Good wines as readily as the evidence above, there may be a chance that the broader wine industry could see a new sustainability-oriented demographic emerge in the segment.