The Vorarlberg fruit juice producer Rauch is now also selling its iced tea in 0.5-litre beverage cartons and wants to offer an alternative to the deposit bottle, according to Austrian media reports.
Provided with a large „No deposit“ label, the composite drinks cartons could be become an alternative for all those who do not want to use returnable bottles - both on the sales side and for consumers. According to Rauch, however, it is still too early to assess how well the cartons are selling and whether they are competing with PET bottles.
Since the beginning of January, Austria has had a one-way deposit system for plastic bottles and aluminium cans. It applies to all disposable drinks bottles and aluminium cans from 0.1 to three litres, the consumer pays a 25 cent deposit. If you return the empty, uncrushed bottles and cans with a legible label, you will get your money back. Beverage cartons are exempt from the one-way deposit.
The new product has only just been launched, the drinks manufacturer said in response to an APA enquiry. Therefore The potential impact on sales of PET bottles of the same volume cannot yet be estimated. We will know more in a few months. Experience from other countries such as Germany, where a deposit has been levied on disposable bottles for 20 years, has shown that the introduction of a deposit system initially leads to a drop in sales. It remains to be seen how things will develop in the future.
Source: Kurier/Tyrolean daily newspaper
