July 30, 2021

Pure Nature: Water in Pure-Pak®– Help save the world

Access to clean drinking water is one of humanity's greatest challenges. Ironically, however, the most widely used packaging solution - plastic bottles – brings its own environmental problems. And consumers are becoming increasingly aware of that fact. They are therefore not only rethinking their consumption, but also making purchasing decisions based on the origin and packaging of their chosen beverage, including water. More than half of Germans would welcome a ban on plastic bottles (Lightspeed/Mintel 2019). And 28% of consumers believe that water should be more frequently available in beverage cartons. Around the globe, more and more beverage manufacturing companies understand what it takes to implement sustainability throughout the whole production process. Here, we introduce you to six pioneers who all want to actively contribute to a better world - and rely on the Elopak Pure-Pak® in order to do so.

Good to know: Water in Pure-Pak®

Can be filled on all Elopak filling machines: from Standard Clean to Aseptic
Best sensory protection and up to 12 months shelf life
Up to 6 different packaging variations can be filled on one machine
Applications from on-the-go, to in-home, to the horeca sector
Up to 10 times less plastic compared to PET bottles
All packaging components - paper, plastic, aluminium - are recyclable
Renewable plastics and natural brown board help to further reduce the CO2 footprint

Our Pure-Pak® system

Our Pure-Pak® Classic carton is the ancestor of all gable top cartons and origin for our carton design. Consumers associate this package with convenience and quality, freshness and naturalness.

Packaging becomes a buying criterion

Source: Mintel 2020
Source: Mintel 2020
Source: Mintel 2020

Flavoured water is increasingly popular

Fruity combinations such as mango & passion fruit, apple & lemon, berry notes and playing with opposites, for example ginger & orange, are all trending.

In a Europe-wide comparison, more new flavoured products were launched in the UK than in the EU: a total of 54% between 2015 and 2019. In Germany, the share was 38%, while in Italy it was only 9%.
“As many consumers switch from sugary drinks to flavoured water, brands are innovating around a natural, preservative-free image to retain new users. Meanwhile unflavoured water companies are experimenting with carbon neutral claims and sustainable packaging and ingredients.“
Patrick Dahn, Innovation Analyst Mintel, June 2021

Market radar

WasserBox: Black Forest-to-go and a forest project

Fresh water with a spring water-like quality straight from the Black Forest, but without the cliché: WasserBox in the 500ml Pure-Pak® Mini Curve is available in more and more outlets, including the online stores of southern German Rewe and Edeka.
The start-up The Box Beverages GmbH supports the "No Plastic World" project. It also plants trees as part of its own regional reforestation project.
For sustainably oriented customers (companies, hotels, events and more), individually branded product concepts can now be realised at the company's own filling plant.

Postevand:
the second best alternative to tap water

Danish beverage supplier Postevand uses messaging on its Pure-Pak® cartons to encourage customers to consume tap water first and foremost.
Since February, the company has been using almost exclusively packaging materials based on renewable materials - with the complete elimination of aluminium foil.
Founders Jesper Kjeldsen and Andreas Lemche, as well as their joint partner Mø, a Danish singer-songwriter, support an NGO that plants trees. After the first forest near Billund, a second one - with trees that are particularly efficient at absorbing CO2 - has now been created.
Postevand water refreshes members of the Danish parliament as well as visitors to Tivoli, and is available in selected locations. These include museums, catering establishments and, most recently, the supermarket chain Irma, which is one of the oldest food chains in the world.

AT Market: water from Europe's last virgin forest

The Carpathians - considered Europe's last wilderness – has the largest near-natural primeval forest and is a refuge for endangered species.
Ukrainian bottler AT Market has switched from plastic bottles to cartons, and offers the first Carpathian spring water in the environmentally friendly 2l Pure-Pak®.

Boxed Water™: best environmental profile with Pure-Pak®

Boxed Water™, based in Michigan, has been offering sustainably packaged water for more than a decade. Its latest offering - four new flavoured waters in 500ml Pure-Pak® cartons – sold out within weeks.
In 2020, a study compared the life cycle assessments of Boxed Water™ in cartons with premium water in plastic bottles and aluminium cans.
The result? Plastic bottle production has 18 times the impact on ozone depletion and aluminium cans have a 200 per cent higher carbon footprint than cartons.

Agua enCaja Mejor: Mission possible in Madrid

The Spanish start-up from Madrid has been offering water in cartons since 2017.
The spring at the foot of a castle is fed by rainfall from a low mountain range in the Extemadura, the Sierra de la Pela. It takes 30 years for the water to move under ground.
All processes from production through to packaging and transportation are designed to be as low in emissions as possible. The rest is balanced through emission compensation projects. Result: The net CO2 emission is zero.
10% of the company's profit goes to the Plant for the Planet Foundation.
The company's own reforestation initiative #plantatucaja aims to plant 100,000 trees.

Bar-le-Duc: Belgian water

Bar-le-Duc is a low-mineralised water from a depth of 140 metres, filled directly at source.
The filler offers its products in 500ml and 2l Pure-Pak® cartons, as well as in plastic bottles made from 100% recycled material.
The selection of flavoured and unflavoured waters is designed to help meet daily hydration needs without sugar or calories.
Elopak - Company website
Naturally Pure-Pak® – Elopak natural brown board website
Farm Dairy, Netherlands
Product:
Pure-Pak® Sense

Farm Dairy has launched its first plant-based milk alternatives in the Netherlands in 750ml Pure-Pak® Sense. Since the beginning of February, three plant-based yoghurts from Picnic’s own “Nogurt” brand have been available exclusively through the Picnic app. Further plant-based product launches for a range of Dutch retail brands are already planned. With both fresh and long-life milk alternatives, Farm Dairy is firmly positioning itself as an accelerator of the protein transition in the Netherlands.

Niehoffs Vaihinger Fruchtsaft, Germany
Product:
Pure-Pak® Classic

The best of juice and oats – the fruit oat drinks Youce by Vaihinger combine tropical fruit flavors with the nutritious qualities of oat drinks. The fruity new product is now available in the flavors orange-mango and cherry-pomegranate in Elopak’s 750ml Pure Pak Classic carton. Whether pure, in muesli or as a snack – in a consumer test, more than 80 percent of the test subjects attested to a high purchase probability.

Co-op, UK
Product:
D-PAK™ Carton

In January 2025, the British retailer Co-op introduced its own-brand detergents in 750ml D-PAK™ cartons throughout the country. By switching from plastic bottles to cardboard packaging, the company is saving around 80 percent on plastic annually. Since the D-PAK™ cartonboard is 45 percent lighter than plastic bottles and can be transported more efficiently, the switch also results in significant logistical savings.

Utsikt, Norway
Product:
D-PAK™ Carton

The Norwegian company DRIV Energi has been marketing a sustainable alternative to plastic packaging since October 2024 with its Utsikt windshield wiper fluid in cartons. The 2-liter D-PAK™ saves 50 grams of plastic and 300 grams of CO2 per carton. Customers appreciate the recyclability and easy handling, especially the ease of pouring.