Marketing of wines and wineries is rapidly gaining importance in the wine industry. As more and more boutique wineries open their tasting room doors, other wineries look to find a marketable edge to promote their wines. An attractive niche is an environmentally friendly winery, and molded pulp packaging can promote that environmental ideal.

Molded pulp is made from post-consumer recycled newsprint and water, then molded into a variety of shapes to fit the packaging purpose. One of the first uses of the product was to make egg cartons, still a primary use of the packaging today. "The pulp is a lot more desirable from a consumer standpoint and an environmental standpoint," said Barry Salt, sales manager for Unisource, the exclusive West Coast distributor of EnviroPAK, a molded pulp packaging manufacturer.

For wineries seeking to promote an "environmentally friendly" ideal, molded pulp packaging works directly with the consumer. The pulp, unlike packing peanuts or other foam packaging supplies, is 100 percent biodegradable and 100 percent recyclable. Rick Jackson, president of EnviroPAK said, "We use no additives. So, we're using up Mother Nature, but we're putting Mother Nature right back in."

"When you have these wine clubs, and have wine shipped to consumers in foam, they can't do anything with it. It ends up going to the dumps, where it becomes landfill that won't break down," said Salt. With molded pulp, Salt noted that it can be put in curbside recycling bins along with newspapers and newsprint materials. Wineries wishing to promote this environmental advantage can mention that to the consumers, either as they purchase, on the website or in newsletters.

Consumers who don't take the extra step towards recycling are still providing an environmental advantage over foam. "Consumers can flatten it out, put it in the garbage and when it gets to the dump it degrades right out," said Jackson. "It doesn't take up any room in the garbage can. It's completely recyclable, completely degradable, unlike foam, which fills up landfills more than anything else."

The environmental benefits, then, are clear. However, molded pulp is also advantageous in that the costs of using pulp are nearly the same as with foam. Keith Van Note, the shipping manager for Viansa Winery, said, "The cost is relatively close to the foam, to within about a penny. It's gotten a lot better than years ago. [The cost] was something that was prohibitive before." Viansa Winery has used EnviroPAK materials for almost two years.

Additionally, molded pulp packaging is nestable or stackable, using about one-third the space as foam packaging. "As far as warehousing, it works real well. It takes up less space, it's more compact and a little lighter," commented Van Note.

As with any packaging, breakage is a concern. While some breakage does occur with molded pulp, it has been minimal. "Foam protects by math, with a big, big pile of cush," said Jackson. EnviroPAK uses 3-D software to design their products to "encapsulate" the product. Jackson felt that while foam protects by math, molded pulp protects "by science. There's hardly anything we can't protect with molded pulp."

"We did some of our own tests and found it was almost comparable to foam in terms of breakage," said Van Note. "There is minimal to no breakage." The smaller the bottle shipment is, the less chance there is for breakage because most molded pulp manufacturers stack the bottles in sets of three. In a 12-bottle shipment, the weight of the nine bottles atop the bottom three may prove too much.

EnviroPAK manufactures one, two, and three-bottle shipping sets that can be stacked up to four high for a 12-bottle shipment. Their package uses encapsulation to protect the bottles, completely surrounding the product. They are ISTA certified, meaning they have been subjected to a 10-point drop test. Unisource distributes the product and can be reached at 1-800-444-9727.

Henry Molded Pulp Products, Inc. is another manufacturer that offers one, two, three, four and six-bottle packs that can be used for up to 12 bottles. They use "snap-apart" bottle tops and bottoms to protect the product, then place the bottles in the shipping box. Henry Molded Pulp has passed UPS tests. For more information, call 717-273-3714.

Western Pulp Packaging Company manufactures molded pulp products for the wine industry as well. They offer two styles to accommodate one, two, three, four, six or 12-bottle shipments. Western Pulp packages also use encapsulation to protect the wine bottles. They are also ISTA certified and have passed UPS and FedEx tests. To contact Western, call 1-800-547-3407. wbm