MODEL GROUP INTRODUCES ITS NEW PACIFIC CAN WITH LESS ALUMINUM

Grupo Modelo, the famous Mexican brewery, spent several months looking for a way to re-enter the market with a can that did not have the common drawback that all cans have. They developed a 410 ml glass for Cerveza Pacifico, which has the characteristic of using less aluminum, without increasing its price to the final consumer.

The new product will not have a higher cost for the consumer, and as it is a 410 ml package versus the standard 355 ml size, it will mean a little more beer for the end customer without having to pay more. Another advantage is the savings in electricity consumption for its manufacture.

Even this technological development, which is part of the group’s actions to achieve its sustainability objectives for 2025, can be exported so that its benefits can have an impact on a global scale. In addition, approximately 80% of SAP customers in Mexico are SMEs.

Alejandro Gutierrez explained that “in innovation we are very proud because this is not only the most sustainable can in Mexico, the first of its kind, but it is a local development that we did in collaboration with one of our suppliers.” to which he added that “we have been working for about two years and it became possible after a lot of technical testing and ensuring that we had a product that could meet both sustainability and consumption specifications.”

Gutiérrez detailed the benefits of the Modelo can, while listing three of its advantages most appreciated by companies. The first is the reduced use of aluminum to manufacture the cans, the second is the reduction of the environmental impact and the third is the costs of this process compared to those generated by other types of commercial packaging.

He also added that “considering Cerveza Pacifico’s annual production and sales in Mexico we are able to save up to 100 tons of aluminum per year based on the sales volumes we are projecting.”

According to the 2021 study by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography, it is estimated that for every peso produced, 65 cents corresponds to beer production. In addition, according to the director of Premium Brands of Grupo Modelo , “Modelo’s cans are used only for Mexico and only export products in exchange for those that Mexico exports, but it is open to the prospect of having more production capacity and more brands to be annexed”.

A study by the International Aluminium Institute (IAI) on the circularity of three beverage packaging materials, aluminum, glass and plastic (PET), revealed that the aluminum can promotes a circular economy better than any other material in use. Aluminum is reused about twice as much as glass or plastic, and 70 percent of aluminum can material is turned back into new cans.