Lofoten Arctic Water launches in resealable and infinitely recyclable aluminium bottles
Image courtesy of Ball Corporation
Lofoten Arctic Water, a natural premium water from Norway’s Lofoten Islands, is launching in a new range of infinitely recyclable aluminium bottles made by Ball Corporation. The premium still and sparkling waters are already attracting awards for both packaging and taste. The new bottles will be filled near the water source in this sparsely populated area of Norway. Lofoten Arctic Water has invested in a new filling line, which will generate skilled jobs in the remote community and which will be opened at a ceremony in January.
The Lofoten islands are located between the 68th and 69th parallels, North of the Arctic Circle. The archipelago forms a rugged landscape of mountain peaks, rising directly from the sea. Lofoten Arctic Water is a unique product of this environment, with no need for filtering or distillation. The water is renewed by glacial melt and snow all year from the surrounding mountains, and from pure rain during the summer months.
This distinctly pure source of freshwater already serves the 5,000 inhabitants of Lofoten. The goal of the Lofoten Arctic Water team is to bring this experience of fresh, pure water to consumers worldwide. The water is soft, with a smooth mouthfeel, and reportedly has an extremely low mineral content for a crisp and clean experience.
Located near the ocean, the Lofoten Arctic Water team were seeking a new packaging solution which would avoid micro-plastics polluting waterways and which would conserve natural resources. They chose Ball’s Alumi-Tek aluminium bottles for their premium still and sparkling arctic water because the bottles can be recycled over and over and with no loss of quality, enabling true circularity.
The bottles also conform to the Nordics’ highly efficient deposit return schemes, including reverse vending machines, where consumers can ensure empties make it back into the system to be recycled. To reinforce the recyclability of the package, each aluminium bottles carries the ‘Metal Recycles Forever’ mark – which, in a recent YouGov survey, has been shown to be more easily understood and trusted by consumers than other green messaging.
The resealable Lofoten Arctic Water aluminium bottles were designed by Strømme Throndsen Design and produced by Ball Corporation. The iconic blue, white and red bottles, recalling the Norwegian flag, have just won ‘Best Natural Still’ and ‘Best Natural Sparkling’ waters at the 2020 Zenith Global Water Drinks Awards, together with the ‘Best in Can’ packaging award. This follows a Silver at the recent Penta Awards for the new aluminium bottle design.
The bottles will be initially launched in Norway, France, Germany, Taiwan and the UK, with further countries currently in development.
Ivar S Williksen, CEO Lofoten Arctic Water said: “We chose the aluminium bottle for several reasons: the pure water chills faster, the bottles work brilliantly on the go and aluminium recycles forever. With the screw off and screw on cap, our consumers can drink as much or as little as they want. When the bottle is empty the consumer may choose to refill and reuse the bottle or of course recycle it.
“Sustainability is crucial to Lofoten Arctic Water as we want to protect the precious and beautiful environment from where we source our pure, fresh water. Working with Ball means we can offer our customers a great on the go packaging solution while safeguarding the environment”.
Ana Neale, director, Strategy and Marketing, Ball Beverage Packaging EMEA, said: “As more consumers expect sustainable solutions, we’re increasingly seeing drinks brands choosing infinitely recyclable aluminium cans and bottles. Lofoten Arctic Water is a great example of a brand that embraces both the aesthetic and the sustainability opportunities of aluminium packaging.”
Today’s announcement follows the news last year that Ball has earned the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI) certification for all 23 of its Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) beverage can plants. Ball is the first beverage can manufacturer to meet ASI’s environmental, social and governance principles, a major sustainability milestone for the company.
