The UK-based sustainable packaging company Frugalpac, headquartered in Suffolk (UK), has unveiled a new machine that significantly increases production of its paper Frugal Bottle, enabling beverage brands, fillers, and packaging partners to scale beyond the limits of glass.
The new Frugal Bottle Assembly Machine 2 (FBAM-2) is a scalable solution capable of producing 14 million paper bottles per year, more than five times the capacity of its predecessor, FBAM-1, which is limited to 2.5 million units annually.
Launched in 2020, the Frugal Bottle remains the world’s first and only commercially available paper bottle for wines, spirits, and edible oils. It is made from 100% recycled paperboard and has a carbon footprint up to 84% lower than a standard glass bottle.
From an economic perspective, the new FBAM-2 also helps reduce costs: the Frugal Bottle is now up to 30% cheaper than previous versions, reaching price parity- or even becoming more cost-effective - compared to a labelled glass bottle. From an environmental standpoint, each bottle saves 348 grams of CO₂ equivalent compared to glass. With more than 4 million units already produced, total savings now exceed 1,392 tonnes of CO₂, equivalent to around 3.5 million miles driven by a petrol car.
The launch of FBAM-2 marks a turning point for the beverage industry, at a time when demand for low-carbon packaging is growing rapidly but production capacity has so far remained a bottleneck. The new machine removes this constraint, enabling the production of millions of additional bottles each year. The format is already present in major retail chains, including Sainsbury’s, Aldi, Whole Foods, Target, and 7-Eleven.
