Coca-Cola transitions Stoney ginger beer to clear PET bottles in South Africa 

SOUTH AFRICA – Coca-Cola has begun transitioning its iconic Stoney ginger beer from its traditional brown plastic bottles to clear PET packaging in South Africa, as the company continues to redesign its packaging portfolio to improve recyclability and support the country’s circular economy.

The phased rollout commenced in June 2026 with the 2.25-litre bottle, while the remaining Stoney pack sizes will gradually adopt the new clear PET format over time.

According to Coca-Cola, the packaging redesign is intended to make bottles easier to collect, sort and recycle within South Africa’s waste management and recycling infrastructure.

The company noted that the transition will not affect the product itself, with consumers continuing to enjoy the brand’s signature KWETSA® ginger beer taste.

To preserve brand recognition, the redesigned bottles will retain Stoney’s distinctive labels and closure colours across all product variants, ensuring the products remain easily identifiable on retail shelves.

The new clear 2.25-litre bottles are expected to become increasingly available across South African retail outlets as the rollout progresses.

“This transition reflects our ongoing focus on improving packaging design and recyclability. By moving STONEY® to clear bottles, we are helping to make them easier to collect and recycle, while supporting economic activity across the waste collection and recycling value chain,” said Mario I. Garcia, Vice President and Managing Director of Coca-Cola South Africa.

The move forms part of Coca-Cola’s broader packaging strategy, which continues to offer beverages in a variety of formats, including returnable glass bottles, PET bottles, aluminium cans and refillable packaging systems.

The company says providing multiple packaging options helps meet varying consumer needs while supporting efforts to reduce packaging waste and lower carbon emissions.

The Stoney redesign follows Coca-Cola’s earlier decision to convert Sprite from green plastic bottles to clear PET packaging in South Africa.

That transition was undertaken to improve material recovery and increase the value of recycled PET by producing clearer recyclate suitable for a wider range of food-grade packaging applications.

Across the beverage industry, manufacturers are increasingly redesigning packaging to improve compatibility with recycling systems.

Clear PET is widely regarded as more valuable than coloured plastic because it can be recycled into a broader range of new food and beverage containers, helping create stronger markets for recycled material and supporting bottle-to-bottle recycling.

The latest initiative aligns with Coca-Cola’s global commitment to designing packaging for circularity by improving recyclability, increasing the use of recycled materials and supporting collection systems.

As governments and brand owners place greater emphasis on packaging sustainability, material choices that enhance recovery rates and recycling efficiency are becoming an increasingly important component of beverage packaging innovation.Coca-Cola Namibia new GM

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