Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/264184
W i n e s & V i n e s M A R C H 2 0 1 4 47 and the convenience of screw- cap is in demand. We also have some customers moving into custom molds." Verallia continues to promote its FlexRun program, which, Parise said, "Has made custom molds a viable option. Previ- ously, minimum production quantity kept a lot of people out of custom molds. "Our customers are always looking to differentiate or dis- tinguish themselves in the highly competitive marketplace on the retail shelf.…Our Flex- Run Service is the first of its kind in North America. It pro- vides any winery—large or small—increased flexibility to run specialty bottles with lim- ited investment." FlexRun makes adding a customized embossment to a stock bottle or creating new bottle design relatively fast and inexpensive. Fisher also reported increased orders of both larger and smaller bottle sizes. Alternative impact Incursions of "alternative packages" are making them- selves felt on supermarket and liquor store shelves across the continent. Is this hurting bot- tle suppliers? Not surprisingly, glass suppliers see the material as unique and irreplaceable. In fact, Harrop stated, "Glass bottle sales are increasing." "We have experienced no impact of the alternative con- tainers—box, plastic, kegs and others—as they have their own environmental and production constraints and will never replace glass for the educated and value-conscious consumer," Giovanni said. No longer edgy, or even alter- native, screwcaps have swiveled into the mainstream. "There is a growing number of screwcap bottles sold in the market, but the switch from cork to screw- cap is still slow as it requires familiarization with new tech- nology, and the long-term via- bility for wines crafted for aging still remains to be demon- strated," according to Giovanni. "We see little to no impact with our customers switching to alternative packaging mate- rials," Parise stated, citing its infinite recyclability. "Although we do see alterna- tive containers in the market- place, the growth of the wine industry overall really has off- set any of the market share that has moved toward alternative packaging," Sychowski said. "We do continue to observe growth in screwcap closure demand. This has continued to be slow and steady growth, but definitely has continued." For one particular size, glass is now the alternative, Gordon said. "The 187mls are not in glass anymore. There are still a couple of hold-out wineries using glass, but the bottles are difficult to get due to the drop in quantities being ordered." Nevertheless, she added, "So far, alternative segments such as kegs, BiB and pouches have not made a significant dent in glass needs. (It) seems like the amount of wine being bot- tled—in all containers—has grown enough to maintain glass volume." Overall, according to Schwandt, "The market for glass bottles remains healthy. Demand is strong. Wineries are more open to considering alternative sources and value-priced alternatives." "Seemslikethehotelbarandhotel give-awaysegmentisabigmarket for375mlbottles,andtheconvenience ofscrewcapisindemand." — s u z a n n e G o r d o n , T r i c o r B r a u n P A C K A G I N G