Rémy Cointreau launches circular distribution system to reduce glass waste in UK on-trade

The liqueur brand has taken its first step towards championing a circular distribution system for the UK on-trade.

From January 2023, Rémy Cointreau will see brands Cointreau and Mount Gay deployed in co-branded hardware to venues across the on-trade, including bars, restaurants, and hotels.

Products will be transported in bulk format where they can be dispensed into branded bottles or served directly into glass or cocktail shakers.

The collaboration with ecoSpirits will result in a 95% reduction in single use packaging waste for Cointreau and Mount Gay distributed in this format. The system will also help UK on-trade partners reduce their own operations waste streams and reduce back-of-house storage by 30 to 50%.

Augustin Depardon, marketing director of Rémy Cointreau UK, said: “I’m thrilled that Rémy Cointreau can pilot the ecoSpirits programme in the UK, and to see Cointreau as the first global liqueur to join the ecoSpirits system. Mount Gay Eclipse and Cointreau are incredibly important brands for our on-trade partners in the UK, and this is a significant step in helping them reduce their overall waste. Equally, it’s vital for us at Remy Cointreau to look at every pillar of our sustainability practices to see where we can do better, and this is just the tip of the iceberg.”

The partnership also forms part of Rémy Cointreau’s overall commitment to sustainable practices, whereby the company has set itself the goal of reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 50% per bottle by 2030 and moving towards Net Zero by 2050.

The Drinks Business