Advances in Synthetic Closure Technology January 29, 2007

Advances in Synthetic Closure Technology January 29, 2007

Presentation Outline

• Current state of the wine closure industry

• Types of synthetic closures.

• What to look for in selecting a supplier.

• Performance characteristics.

• Coordinating closures with the package

• Closure-based promotional mechanics

Current closure market sharesby Closure Type - Unit Volume

(17 Billion Closures)

Synthetic cork16%

Agglomerated, Colmated, 'Altec'

23%

Technical, 1+125%

Screwcap12%Punched tree bark

24%

Cork / Cork Composites market share = 72%Synthetic Cork Growth – 10 to 15% per year

Total Driven Closure Market by Country17 Billion Closures

France, Italy, Germany/Austria = 57% of market

• 95% of wine consumed within eighteen months of bottling• 99% of wine consumed within 24 hours of purchase• 70% of wine purchased from supermarket chain/ discounter

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

Italy France Germanyand

Austria

Spain UnitedStates

ROW Australia Argentina Chile SouthAfrica

Synthetic closures - overview• Two key production processes

– Extrusion / Co-Extrusion –• Nukorc Nomacorc

– Injection Molding• e.g.SupremeCorq

Synthetic closures -Material overview-

Numerous materials

– Polyethylene – e.g.Nukorc, Nomacorc

– Expanded polyvinyl – e.g.Co-plast

– Ethyl Vinyl Acetate – e.g.Integra

– Thermoplastic Elastomer – e.g.SupremeCorq

All are petroleum-based products coated with a food grade silicon.

Overview of synthetic closure sector

• Approximately 50 producers• Two key players – SupremeCorq &

Nomacorc – have c.50% market share• Three ‘second-tier’ global producers• 45 regional/national/local producers• 80% injection-molders, 20% (co-)extruders• 80% of producers based in Italy• 10% of the production capacity in Italy

Overview of synthetic closure sector

• Big differences between product offerings:– Extraction force – Oxygen barrier performance– Ability to re-insert after opening– Print quality– Service – lead time– Quality and consistency– Investment in product development

Key Performance Characteristics

• Extraction• Barrier Properties• Removal from a Corkscrew• Reinsertion• Push Test

Extractions after 24 Months Ambient (73°F/23 °C)

Methodology: Bottled commercial red wine with various closures. Stored all wine horizontally in 55ºF/ 13ºC and 50-75% Relative Humidity (RH) at a controlled wine storage facility. After 9 months the bottles were turned to an upright position to replicate retail shelf conditions. After 24 months the bottles were stabilized to 73ºF/ 23ºC for 24 hours and extraction values were measured using the ISO 9727 method (Dillon TC2 Extraction Unit). In addition, the standard deviation was calculated and averaged.

4.7

5.8

3.94.5

3.2

4.0

3.0

4.0

7.5

0.0

10.0

20.0

30.0

40.0

50.0

60.0

NuKorc Nomacorc SupremeCorq New &

Improved

SupremeCorq

Original

2+2 1+1 Integra Neocork Tree Bark

Extr

actio

n Fo

rce

(kg)

0.0

1.0

2.0

3.0

4.0

5.0

6.0

7.0

8.0

Stan

dard

Dev

iatio

n (k

g)

24 hrs after bottling 24 months Standard Deviation

Extractions after 24 Months - Chilled (43°F/6 °C)

Methodology: Bottled commercial white wine with various closures. Stored all wine horizontally in 55ºF/ 13ºC and 50-75%RH at a controlled wine storage facility. After 9 months the bottles were turned to an upright position to replicate retail shelf conditions. After 24 months, the bottles were chilled to 43ºF/ 6ºC for 24 hours and then the extraction values were measured using the ISO 9727 method (Dillon TC2 Extraction Unit). In addition, the standard deviation was calculated and averaged.

3.7

5.2

3.9

2.4

5.1

2.8

4.4

1.7

3.2

0.0

10.0

20.0

30.0

40.0

50.0

60.0

NuKorc Nomacorc Supreme CorqOriginal

Supreme CorqNew &

Improved

2+2 1+1 Tree Bark Integra Neocork

Extr

actio

n Fo

rce

(kg)

0.01.02.03.04.05.06.07.08.0

Stan

dard

Dev

iatio

n (k

g)

48 hrs after bottling 24 months Standard Deviation

Permeability of ClosuresTested by Southcorp Packaging, Australia, presented at 2005 ASEV Conference by Richard Gibson

0.006

00.10.20.30.40.50.60.70.80.9

1

0.001 0.01 0.1 1 10

Permeability (CC O2/Closure/Day)

Frac

tion

of C

losu

res

(cum

ulat

ive)

Raw DataGaussian Fit

35 randomly selected 44x24 ref 2 natural corks

Synthetic corks

SupremeCorq X2

0,006

38mm - Oxygen Permeability

0.006 0.006

0.011 0.011

0.0140.015

0.018

0.000

0.002

0.004

0.006

0.008

0.010

0.012

0.014

0.016

0.018

0.020

Natural Cork

SupremeCorq X2

SupremeCorq Original

Nomacorc Classic

Integra Nukorc

Neocork

Oxy

gen

Tran

smis

sion

Rat

e (c

c/pk

g da

y)

Methodology: Testing was performed on an Ox-Tran 2/20 (MOCON, Inc.) at Impact Analytical (Midland, Michigan, USA) per ASTM F1307.

Torque to Remove from CorkscrewAmbient Temperature (70oF/21oC)

Methodology: A “Waiter’s Friend” type corkscrew with a pigtail style auger was inserted into each of the five closures setup in the Electronic Torque Tester, manufactured by Secure Pak, Inc. The torque required to remove the corkscrew from the closure was measured from the digital reader in inch pounds. The five readings were averaged.

0.350.48

0.26

1.551.71

2.14

1.04

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

SupremeCorqOriginal

SupremeCorqX2

Nomacorc Integra Tree Bark Nukorc Neocork

Rem

oval

Tor

que

(in lb

)

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

Stan

dard

Dev

iatio

n (in

lb)

Standard Deviation

Torque to Remove from CorkscrewChilled Temperature (42oF/4oC)

Methodology: A “Waiter’s Friend” type corkscrew with a pigtail style auger was inserted into each of the five closures setup in the Electronic Torque Tester, manufactured by Secure Pak, Inc. The torque required to remove the corkscrew from the closure was measured from the digital reader in inch pounds. The five readings were averaged.

0.72 0.64

0.870.66

1.55

0.780.98

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

SupremeCorqOriginal

SupremeCorqX2

Nomacorc Integra Tree Bark Nukorc Neocork

Rem

oval

Tor

que

(in lb

)

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

Stan

dard

Dev

iatio

n (in

lb)

Standard Deviation

Ease of Manual Cork Reinsertion into Bottle (at Ambient Temperature*)

Supreme CorqX2

Supreme CorqOriginal

Tree Bark Neocork 1+1 2+2 Nomacorc Integra NuKorc

Easy

Impossible

Note: 12 bottles of each closure were used. The closure was extracted and reinserted after a ½ hour. Rating of Ease of Manual Reinsertion methodology per AWRI study (Godden 1999).

Corq Movement Under Heat Stress

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

SupremeC

orq X2

1+1

SupremeC

orq O

riginal

NuKorc

Nomacorc

Neoco

rk

Integra

Push

Hei

ght (

mm

)

Methodology: Bottles were filled with tap water and the closures were inserted into each bottle with a semi-automatic bottler and vacuum at –5 psi (-0.34 bar). The insertion height of each closure was measured before and after incubation for 24 hours vertically at 100°F/38°C.

Quality Assurance

ISO 9001:2000Process Control

ProgramGuiding Principle

Active R & D DepartmentInnovation

Quality Control & MonitoringProduct Performance

American Institute of Baking (AIB)

HACCP ProgramBritish Retail Packaging

Standard (BRC)

Food Safety

Recap of Key Criteria for Closure Evaluation• Technical performance

– Ease of use on bottling line – mechanical

– Ease of removal—mechanical

– Wine sealing characteristics—preservative

– Food safety – quality control certifications

• Consumer experience– Must be easy to insert the corkscrew

– Must be easy to extract from the bottle

– Must be easy to re-insert into the bottle

– Must not flake crumbs of material into the wine

– Must look good!

Marketing managers with Synthetic closures

Packaging Design

• Brand managers often forget to design the closure– What colour? Complement or contrast– What length? Technical and aesthetic choice– What colour of ink? Complement or contrast

What to print on the corq?

Examples of considered design

• Complementary colour choices– E.g.Cono Sur Vineyards & Winery, Chile

– E.g. Aresti Vineyard, Chile

Communicate on the closure

• Develop consumer relationship– Website or phone number on the closure

• E.g.Domaine Bourillon Dorléans, France

Closure links to the website, including tasting notes, winery history and closure information

Other Consumer Marketing Ideas

• Print a web address that links to a site with a promotion campaign or game

• Return ‘x’ number of corqs from a brand to receive a discount voucher

• Offer branded merchandise• Co-promote with key retailers

The only limit is your imagination!

Thank you for your attention!

Jim Cahill

Vice President North American Sales

Supreme Corq LLC