Sustainable brewery Toast Ale is crowdfunding to launch their core range of planet-saving craft beers in 330ml cans, alongside a new brand positioning and identity.
Toast Ale has been working with Advance London, part of the London Waste and Recycling Board (LWARB), who provide free advisory support to circular SMEs and SMEs interested in developing circular models. They have conducted research using Toast’s operational data to explore the lifecycle impact of glass bottles and aluminium cans.
The research showed that cans performed better. They reduce freight emissions due to weight and storage efficiencies, provide a more efficient storage solution to reduce shelf and fridge space, and reduce the amount of space required to chill the product before drinking. They are also more readily recycled than glass bottles - in the UK approximately 72% of aluminium cans are recycled versus 67.7% of glass bottles.
This has to be balanced against the relatively high energy demand for recycling aluminium, and the environmental impacts of extracting virgin aluminium. Toast is also exploring packaging free options, with its beer available in reused steel kegs in pubs, bars, and currently part of the Waitrose Unpacked trial in Oxford.
Consumers are increasingly choosing cans when buying beer – 25% of all craft beer sales in the UK were in cans in 2018. In addition to their environmental credentials, cans better preserve the quality of the beer, whilst increasing accessibility for drinkers - debunking previous opinions of cans which were often associated with lower quality beers.
Toast Ale has upcycled over 1 million slices of fresh surplus bread in their mission to fight food waste, and plans to rescue 1 billion slices. The ambitious target will only be met by brewing systemic change in the beer industry and changing public perception of food waste and its environmental impact. The move into cans represents an opportunity to show that craft beer can fight food waste by empowering drinkers to make more sustainable choices.
Those who pledge to the crowdfunder will get the first-edition British cans and be the first to see Toast Ale’s new branding, as the business looks to present a bolder vision for the beer industry’s role in tackling food waste and its environmental impact. If the crowdfunding campaign raises more than the £35,000 target, additional funds will also be put into a large scale brand awareness campaign to help announce this new positioning.
Louisa Ziane, Global Head of Brand, Culture and Sustainability commented: “In 2016, we launched our planet saving beer in bottles, and last year introduced kegs so that consumers could get Toast on tap at pubs, bars and events across the UK.
“We also launched cans in the US, and earlier this year into Ireland. They’ve proved a big hit and we’re often asked when they’re coming to the UK.
“We’re exceptionally excited to be able to provide our customers with more ways to do their bit for the planet and to use cans as a canvas to reveal our exciting new branding, which better communicates Toast’s environmental mission.”
The campaign, launched on the 6th of June, is looking to raise £35,000 through a series of reward based incentives. For more details, visit https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/craft-beer-can