" Asahi Jurokucha" PET 630ml direct marking bottle
Company:
ASAHI SOFT DRINKS CO., LTD. , Ricoh CO., LTD.
Country: Japan
Category: Non-Alcoholic Beverages
Global climate change and the reduction of plastic waste are gaining worldwide attention as social issues to be addressed in order to pass on a bountiful planet to future generations. In light of these social conditions, we have developed a new type of "completely sticker-less bottle," the "Asahi Jurokucha" PET 630ml direct marking bottle. The new bottle has been created by using the latest high-definition UV laser marking technology, which we call "Direct Marking Technology", to express the necessary information directly on the PET bottle for our core brand of blended tea "Jurokucha,". This eliminates the need for small plastic stickers, which were previously required, and contributes to further reduction of environmental impact and improvement of recycling efficiency. In the future, we aim to implement single product sales at mass merchandisers and convenience stores, and expand the sales to other brands, thereby contributing to the realization of a sustainable society.
The technological breakthrough is the ability to express fine characters and even complex Japanese Kanji on PET bottles for beverages, which was not possible with conventional CO2 lasers. By fine-tuning the irradiation intensity and frequency, we succeeded in achieving both good visibility and safety without risk of leakage. In terms of marketability, the planned sales volume of 1,200 cases was sold out in the limited sales on Amazon's EC, and the product received a high evaluation with an average review score of 4.8 points. We received many positive reviews from customers who actually purchased the product. "Since I don't have to remove labels or plastic stickers anymore, I can approach recycling with a positive attitude. " If all conventional "Jurokucha" products with labels were replaced with direct-marking bottles, plastic use would be reduced by approximately 190 tons per year and CO2 emissions by approximately 1,200 tons.