Reusable lightweight glass bottle from Vetropack wins second WorldStar Award

04.06.2025: Vetropack's thermally hardened lightweight reusable glass bottle was honoured with the World Packaging Organisation’s (WPO) prestigious WorldStar Award a second time. This time, the bottle won in the “Alcoholic Beverages” category and the Special Award in the “Sustainability” category. Daniel Egger and Martin Doberer accepted the awards at the ceremony during the IPACK-IMA in Milan.

Last year, Vetropack's tempered 0.33-litre lightweight glass bottle was introduced as a sustainable standard reusable solution in Austria. With 30 per cent less weight, significantly reduced emissions during logistics, and 20 per cent more loops than their conventional counterparts, the lightweight bottles impressed the WorldStar Award jury. They also emphasised the overall system: In collaboration with partners like the Austrian logistics association for reusable packaging (Logistikverbund-Mehrweg) and the Austrian Brewers’ Association (Verband der Brauereien), the bottle and crate design as well as the pallets and logistics were optimally coordinated.

Daniel Egger, Head of Innovation at Vetropack, accepted the awards together with Martin Doberer, Business Development Manager at Vetropack. “This renewed award honours our team’s many years of work. Our tempered lightweight reusable bottles not only conserve resources but are also already reducing CO₂ emissions in the beer market and save costs. The recognition from the World Packaging Organisation with the Special Award in the “Sustainability” category in Bronze shows that we are actively shaping the future of packaging with our concept,” emphasised Egger at the ceremony.

Vetropack’s thermally hardened lightweight reusable glass bottles were already honoured with the Austrian State Prize for Smart Packaging and a Swiss Packaging Award in 2024. The multiple awards reflect the research and development work that went into the technology behind the innovative bottles. Vetropack spent almost a decade working on a process for producing tempered lightweight glass bottles. The resulting technology enables Vetropack to harden even lightweight glass bottles for use as reusable containers. The bottles are also more stable. Vetropack is currently the only glass packaging manufacturer in the world to offer this unique innovation.