KeyKeg's Bag-in-Keg solution is changing the game for Australian Wine-by-Glass programs, with the proprietary packaging system including technology that eliminates wine oxidation, and wineries and hospitality venues reporting significant waste savings.
The company says its proprietary Bag-in-Keg technology ensures wine freshness from winery to consumer, making it ideal for all wine types, including low intervention wines.
KeyKeg comprises a laminated inner bag in a pressurised, high-tech PET Keg, two elements that the company says "guarantee the best beverage quality over the entire supply chain, from filling and transport to dispensing" and increasing shelf life.
KeyKeg says the solution "significantly reduces the 10-15 per cent wine waste typically associated with wine-by-glass programs". By eliminating wine wastage, the packaging ensures maximum efficiency and cost savings for wineries and hospitality venues alike.
Ease of use is a key feature. The KeyKeg is simple to fill at any winery without the need for external gases. When dispensing in hospitality venues, any gas, even compressed air, can be used without compromising the wine's freshness or quality. The company says this makes using KeyKeg "foolproof" for venue staff.
The shape and ergonomic grip ring and basecup ensure that anyone can handle KeyKegs. KeyKegs are light and stack efficiently, saving valuable storage space and transport cost. They can also be filled easily using automatic or semi-automatic filling machines, and beverage producers can fill them manually too, using a special filling head. KeyKeg fits existing dispense systems in pubs, bars and restaurants at the other end of the supply chain too.
"KeyKegs are a game-changer for us," says Peter Scudamore-Smith, owner at NextGen Liquor Marketing. "Their ability to prevent oxidation aligns perfectly with our commitment to quality by-the-glass service, and our customers love the consistent freshness of our wines. With every 20-litre KeyKeg we remove around 10.5 kilos of waste."
Raymond Kent, KeyKeg account manager Australasia, confirms that wineries of all sizes across Australia are embracing KeyKeg. Wine producers like Moffatdale Ridge Winery, Accolade Wines, Hentley Farm, Chalmers, Angove, Brash Higgins and many more, have adopted KeyKeg to enhance their sustainability efforts and deliver superior quality wines to their customers.
As the packaging is lighter in weight than alternative solutions, it also reduces CO2 emissions during transport. The company says it aims to "steadily increase the amount of circular material in each new KeyKeg". To further its sustainability goals, it is assembling a worldwide Return Network of partners to collect and process empty Kegs for reuse as raw materials in the production of new KeyKegs.
KeyKegs are currently manufactured in Germany, Spain and the US and imported to Australia, as volumes are as yet too low for local manufacture.
