McLaren Packaging, a specialist supplier of award-winning, paper-based packaging to the global spirits industry, has won the Innovation in Packaging category at the prestigious Spirits Business Awards 2024 with what has been lauded as a ‘game-changing’ design.

Commenting on McLaren’s innovative packaging solutions, the award judges said: “What stood out most about McLaren was its potential to seriously disrupt the spirits packaging industry with its sustainable, paper-based presentation tubes.

The vertical perforation on the packaging tubes allows the paper body and metal base to be easily separated and recycled, while retaining a premium look and feel. McLaren Packaging’s design could be a game-changer for the spirits industry.”

McLaren has developed an innovative range of easily recyclable presentation tubes of all shapes and sizes primarily for distilled spirits.

Gift tubes are synonymous with Single Malt Whisky and sought after by brand owners where the range of shapes, in particular curved surfaces, allow more unique and creative design opportunities while embellishments are enhanced by the curves.

McLaren’s latest innovations now allow for simpler and easier recycling of the metal and card components, two of the most widely recycled materials globally, and have already been adopted by several well-known global brands.

For its bespoke shaped tubes, McLaren has developed a vertical perforation that allows the paper body and metal base to be easily separated and recycled. This novel solution ensures that the tube can be handled responsibly at end of life and has received approval from On Pack Recycling Label (OPRL) in the UK.

For the traditional, round tube with a metal base, the eco-design uses a clever horizontal perforation at the rear of the tube, enabling consumers to effortlessly remove the metal base for recycling.

McLaren has also introduced a mono-material tube with a paper base which can be disposed of without the need for separation. Entirely eliminating the need for metal, the tube can easily be placed directly into the domestic mixed recycling stream.

Both tubes use a high percentage of recycled content giving end of life paper fibres, which would have otherwise been wasted, additional life.

By offering mono-material tubes or including a discreet line of perforations on the pack to separate the body from the base, McLaren has made it easy for disposal in kerbside recycling schemes. At the same time, the strength, structure and security of the packaging retains the same high standards that both brands and consumers have come to expect.

Michael McLaren, sales and marketing director, said: “The creation of innovative packaging solutions and the development of innovative production processes with an emphasis on recyclability are key to our customers’ ongoing success. As such, we’re thrilled to win in this fiercely contested category.

Design aspirations, environmental goals and quality targets are delivered by our complete range of products, manufactured in Scotland by our expert group of companies.”

The Spirits Business Awards were created to celebrate and reward excellence across the industry, from retailers and distributors to marketers, brands, distillers and blenders.