FDBusiness.com

Highland Spring, the UK’s largest supplier and producer of natural source bottled water, has responded to popular demand by making a 100% recycled and recyclable plastic eco bottle a permanent hydration choice in 2019. Following a hugely successful 2018 trial, the Highland Spring eco bottle™ will be rolled out nationwide.

The eye-catching label will feature a burst of green and a ‘100% recycled plastic bottle’ message to help people understand more about recycled and recyclable plastics. The new eco bottle joins the existing Highland Spring natural source water range, where all bottles are already 100% recyclable. The move marks a significant milestone in efforts to help keep plastic in the circular economy.

With shoppers expressing a significant desire for more eco bottles at trial stage, the launch will be fol-lowed by more 100% recycled and recyclable plastic eco bottles later in the year. These include a new Highland Spring Kids eco bottle, designed to help young people understand more about healthy hydration and responsible recycling. The bottle will be available from May.

The major roll-out follows a hugely successful trial conducted last June. The results showed that shoppers responded well to the 100% recycled plastic eco bottle, with no negative reaction to the appearance of the recycled plastic and a willingness to pay more for recycled material.

What emerged as key factors in the purchase of the eco bottle was environmental awareness, product availability and location in supermarkets:

• 30% of shoppers who bought the eco bottle cited support for the environment as the main reason for purchase.
  • Only one in 10 shoppers noticed a difference in the eco bottle as a recycled material.
  • Even when shown the eco bottle alongside a standard 100% recyclable Highland Spring bottle, only 35% of shoppers noticed a difference in its appearance.
  • Six in 10 consumers claim they would be happy to spend more on the eco bottle, with the ma-jority believing a 5p increase would be fair.

Highland Spring Group Chief Executive, Les Montgomery, says: “Increasing our use of recycled plastic is an absolute priority for Highland Spring and this is a hugely exciting step in our mission to provide healthy hydration choices in environmentally sustainable ways. We hope that having innovative products such as the eco bottle in supermarkets alongside 100% recyclable bottles will help shoppers understand more about plastic as a valuable resource that should not be treated as waste.”