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Diageo trials Carbon-cutting vodka keg
Diageo is targeting the on-trade with its trials of a new circular keg and dispense system for its Smirnoff vodka brand.
The new technology, developed by Diageo in partnership with design consultancy Hodges & Drake, is called Everpour and utilises reusable stainless kegs (with a volume of either 5 litres or 17.5l) which, once emptied, are sent back to Diageo to be refilled and then sent back to the venue. These kegs are then hooked up to the dispenser, which automatically refills the glass bottles from which the spirit is served. These bottles can then be re-sealed, or connected to an optic.
The drinks multinational suggests that Everpour will have significant ramifications in terms of cutting emissions, with it claimed that each keg will “reduce the use of a minimum of 500 single-use 70cl glass bottles”, and reduce Carbon emissions by more than 50% for every litre of Smirnoff served through it.
The trial of the tech will run over six weeks across seven bars in Dublin, with the results used to assess the feasibility of using this technology on a wider scale.
“This a huge milestone for Diageo to be trialing our first bespoke Diageo-led developed circular economy system for spirits in the on-trade,” commented Dave Lutkenhaus, the company’s global sustainability innovation director. “We’ve designed the system building on the years of insights we have from the on-trade with the aim for Everpour to be convenient and desirable for bartenders to use, whilst reducing our carbon emissions. We’re looking forward to seeing the results from the trial to take into our next round of product development.”
Smirnoff is the long-term holder of the title of world’s best selling vodka brand, with 26 million cases of the spirit sold in 2023, though this does mark a 7.7% decline on 2022’s volume. By contrast, its closest competitor, Pernod Ricard-owned Absolut, sat in second at 11.9m cases (an 8.1% decrease on the figure from the previous year).
The idea of a ‘circular economy’ has become something of a trend in the drinks industry, with Waitrose currently trialling a natural cork return scheme to cut down on waste from wine purchases.
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