Aldi makes change to wine bottles leaving customers baffled and checking the date
ALDI shoppers are baffled by the switch to wine bottles which have been branded ‘ridiculous’, leaving shoppers to double check the date.
The discount favorite has unveiled a new range of wines that will arrive in unusual packaging.
Traditional glass bottles have been replaced by PAPER on two Aldi own brand labels, a first for the supermarket in Britain.
The Cambalala South African Shiraz and Cambalala South African Sauvignon Blanc, both £7.99, will hit stores from March 18.
They are made from 94% recycled cardboard on the outside and have a food-safe bag that holds the wine inside.
The bottles are fully recyclable, with the added advantage that at 83 grams they are five times lighter and therefore easier to transport.
Read more about supermarkets
Aldi says this means it can remove a total of more than 39 tonnes of bottle weight, reducing the carbon impact of transporting the wine to stores.
But the move has left some people baffled, asking if it’s April Fool’s Day (which April Fool’s Day is) and saying: “I had to check the date there”.
“Imagine, if this had happened a few years ago on April 1, no one would have fallen for it. Now it’s a reality, which is pretty cool,” said another.
However, others were left confused about the move, which is designed to be more environmentally friendly.
“Ridiculous,” said one customer, while another asked why you should use paper when glass is 100% recyclable.
Meanwhile, others joked that it “doesn’t matter what it’s made of as long as it has 13% good quality Aldi wine in it” and that they don’t care as it goes “straight into my large wine glass”.
Julie Ashfield, purchasing director at Aldi in the UK, said: “Shoppers are striving to become more sustainable in their everyday lives, looking for small ways to make a big difference to our planet.
“Our buying teams are constantly thinking about how we can evolve our range to deliver better value and greener choices.
“We are proud to be the first supermarket to launch an own-brand paper bottle, helping us drive sustainable change.”
Common items NOT to throw in your trash
Dirty pizza boxes – anything with excess food, drinks or baked-on stains such as grease generally cannot be recycled.
Plastic shopping bags – it takes hundreds of years for the bags to break down because the plastic is not biodegradable.
Takeaway coffee cups – many are made with a combination of paper and plastic to retain heat and prevent leaks, so they don’t belong in the green recycling bin.
Polystyrene foam – anything made of polystyrene should not go in the trash, because the material is not biodegradable.
Garbage bags – black garbage bags are not allowed in the recycling bins – they cannot be recycled.
Spray cans – Whether they contain whipped cream or a hazardous liquid such as spray paint, the compressed air in the cans makes them difficult to recycle and should normally go in the regular trash.
Crispy and sweet parcels – anything classified as “multi-layer flexible packaging” cannot be recycled, so if you see this label, don’t throw it in the green bin.
Bubble wrap – While some types of plastic can be recycled, the specific type of plastic bubble wrap that is made from cannot, as it can become tangled in recycling machines.
In addition to the new style bottles, Aldi is also reducing the size of the labels on its Grapevine range with the aim of having them on all its core wines by 2026.
The paper bottles are made by a company called Frugalpac, which has also launched the packaging with wine brands.
Craft wine maker When in Rome launched the first paper bottles in supermarkets when they hit Sainsbury’s shelves last year.
Sure, you can buy wine in boxes made of cardboard, but the bags inside are often made of harder-to-recycle plastic.
Aldi isn’t the only one making the switch to paper in an effort to help the environment.
Vodka brand Absolut launched a paper bottle as part of a trial last year in a bid to be more environmentally friendly.
At the beginning of this year, paper tubes of Pringles were on supermarket shelves.
Tesco and One Stop stores will have them initially, before replacing the traditional steel-based can.
Quality Street has abandoned the classic foil and plastic packaging for paper after 86 years.
Although it has saved waste from the landfill, some fans are disappointed by the lack of Christmas dazzle.