To overtake it is essential to look in the rear-view mirror. The same is true of the circular economy, which advocates recycled activities popularized by the characters in "La Busca", by Pío Baroja, a novel belonging to his trilogy "The Struggle for Life": the regeneration of the footwear of the cobbler Manuel, or Don Custodio, the ragpicker whose job was to regenerate any used material. Coca-Cola has launched its national plan to promote glass packaging in the hospitality industry in Barcelona, a program that will be carried out in restaurants in Spain during 2023, and which aims to offer the sector a range of 9 brands and 61 product references. the recycling, for example, of the iconic brand bottle designed in 1915 and which has an average of 25 lives or consumption before being recycled, which means extending its usefulness for six years.
The glass container is considered the most tenable for the hospitality industry due to its circularity, since it is returnable. The multinational collects them, returns them to their factories and refills. Coca-Cola produced the first glass bottle in Spain in 1953, at the Barcelona plant. Precisely the current plant, located in the municipality of Martorelles, has produced more than 51 million liters in this type of container during 2022. of 24.700 customers throughout the territory.
Coca-Cola's plan to encourage the use of returnable video containers in the hospitality industry has been presented at an event at the Hivernacle, inside Poble Espanyol, in Barcelona, with the presence of half a thousand people, including customers and distributors, who attended the event entitled "Uncork the change". Hosted by the comedian José Corbacho, the model, television presenter and businesswoman Martina Klein participated; the chef and TV3 presenter Marc Ribas, and Tomás Molina, meteorologist and TV3 presenter. The climax was a charge by La Fura dels Baus, with a show that evokes the birth of black and refreshing popular syrup.
According to a Conecta study for the beverage brand, 80% of consumers prefer the glass container when they go to a hotel establishment, and their iconicity, quality, experience, and sustainability stand out. According to the latest sustainability report "Avanzamos" from the same brand, 91% of the glass produced by the soft drink company is returnable. The sustainable management of packaging is one of the main assets of the company chaired by Sol Daurella, which is why it uses many materials in its production processes and collects and recycles everything that is used.
Jose Gómez, sales director for the Eastern Area of Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Iberia, explained that the company "is committed to promoting glass as an appropriate format in the hospitality channel, where it plays a fundamental role and fulfills a key role". In it, he stresses that "it has a recognizable designer and comes from the best consumer experience, and in addition sense becomes the most tenable container for this moment of consumption." According to the National Institute of Statistics (INE), at the beginning of 2021 there were 280.000 companies in the hospitality sector, of which 90% were bars, restaurants and food and drink establishments. That means that there is a bar for 180 inhabitants. From an economic point of view, the sector represents 6,4% of GDP. Regarding employment, by 2020, the sector employs 1,7 million people.
