The 650ml bottle, dubbed the “Star Bottle”, features the brand’s iconic star on its body with the Heineken name deep-etched directly into the glass. The new design is not only unique looking, it’s the first returnable Heineken bottle to be sold on South African soil.
This move underscores the company’s continued ambition towards sustainability. In 2022, Heineken invested in a cutting-edge water reclamation facility and a state-of-the-art solar power plant with more than 14,000 panels for its Sedibeng brewery, achieving an energy generation capacity of 6.5MW, reducing the brewery’s carbon emissions by about 30%.
“The new bottle is about more than only beautiful design. In 2023, 29% of our beer portfolio was in returnable bottles, this decision will result in 65% of our total beer portfolio moving out of single-use glass in 2024,” says Bhavna Mistry, senior brand manager for Heineken.
Among its ambitions, the company aims to reach net-zero carbon emissions across its value chain by 2040, which would position Heineken 10 years ahead of the 2050 Paris Climate Agreement target, making the company the first global brewer to commit to such an ambitious timeline.