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Brewery boss Victoria Schubert-Rapp in front of her Karg wheat beer brewery in MurnauReusable management instead of shortage
"The last few months have been a tough struggle to find empties," said Victoria Schubert-Rapp, managing co-owner of the Karg brewery in Murnau. "Every week we hope again that we can get together enough empties to fill." The geographically manageable regional distribution of the Upper Bavarian wheat beer brewery is usually advantageous for the return of returnable bottles. During the partial lockdown, however, brew numbers increased. "In the trade we increased significantly," says Schubert-Rapp. At some point they were all in circulation, the returnable bottles and crates. "At the moment we are waiting for our new empties train, it could come any week. So we have hope that it will be easier for us at least in the weeks after that."
Icon, souvenir and export hit from Bamberg: Schlenkerla RauchbierAt Schlenkerla, returnable bottles go on a journey
A world-renowned brewery like Schlenkerla in Bamberg is well aware of this: "The lack of empties has been a challenge for us for decades," said owner Matthias Trum. Many visitors to Bamberg bought a Rauchbier as a souvenir, and these bottles would only come back years later, if at all, namely on the next visit to the city. "That's why we started negotiating long-term contracts with our bottle suppliers many years ago, so that we always have a guaranteed supply," says Trum. "In addition, we always keep larger quantities of bottles in stock in our external warehouse so that we can react quickly."
Just like Schubert-Rapp from the Karg Brewery, Trum is also committed to returnable beverages: "One-way or cans may be a solution for export, as they are ecologically unproblematic compared to returnable beverages - which are not returned from abroad. For the German market, we don't see this happening in the foreseeable future due to a lack of customer acceptance."
Andreas Gänstaller at the mobile can fillerGänstaller relies on the can
Gänstaller Braumanufaktur, also from Bamberg, is quite different: "The shortage of empties is one of the reasons why we decided to use cans," says brewery boss Andreas Gänstaller. "Last year, when Gänstaller Braumanufaktur was founded, we had problems getting hold of bottles. We even had a bottling machine already." But to no avail. The complete Gänstaller range - eight varieties in total - is now bottled in cans. "For a microbrewery, the costs for the cans are quite high," says Gänstaller.
Since most of the brewery's customers are abroad and the can is much cheaper in terms of shipping and forwarding, the expense pays off. "With all the trimmings, we are well positioned with the can," says Gänstaller - and freed from worries about empties.
A neutral carrier system helps manage the logistics of single bottles and multipacksStörtebeker: neutral load carriers for multipacks
After the partial lockdown, Störtebeker Braumanufaktur, Stralsund, also groaned under the pull of demand: "The rush of tourists, especially on the coast, was and is huge. Demand has once again skyrocketed," says Marketing Manager Karsten Triebe. "Especially with the diversity of varieties, as we live it, a not inconsiderable problem." The Stralsund-based company is tackling the challenges proactively: "We try," says Triebe, "to plan ahead for all assortments and containers and to position ourselves in the best possible way." This includes the replenishment of bottles and crates, as well as the expansion of capacities in the entire production process. Due to changing household structures, multipacks were also playing an increasingly important role at Störtebeker. "Here, thanks to the use of the neutral Logipack load carrier system, we are also logistically in a position to distribute small packs in great variety nationally," says Triebe.
High sorting effort due to individual bottles
The high proportion of individual containers is a major concern for many breweries because of the increasing sorting and logistics costs. A home-made problem? In any case, it is not only brand image and marketing that make brewers turn to individual bottles. The lack of quality management of the bottle pool is putting pressure on returnable containers, which is an equally important reason for some breweries to invest in individual containers.
Bottle pool initiatives
The Bundesverband des Deutschen Getränkefachgroßhandels e.V., Düsseldorf, has also long criticised the increasing individualisation of the system. Dirk Reinsberg, managing director: "We demand that the brewing industry think about how to organise pool management, which has long existed in other areas of the beverage industry." This refers to the Genossenschaft Deutscher Brunnen (GDB) and the Verband der Deutschen Fruchtsaft-Industrie (VdF).
Reinsberg welcomes the new initiatives that came on the scene almost simultaneously at the end of 2020: on the one hand, the "Gesellschaft für Mehrweg-Management" (GeMeMa) founded by Bitburger, Krombacher, Radeberger and Warsteiner and the "MPB Mehrwegpool der Brauwirtschaft" (MPB Reusable Pool of the Brewing Industry), a cooperative initiated by the Bavarian Brewers Association, the NRW Brewers Association and the North German Brewers Association. The GFGH Federal Association considers both approaches feasible. "However, we would have liked to see all brewers working together and warn against two competing systems," Reinsberg said. "This does not solve the existing challenges to revitalise and expand the returnable beverage system."
GeMeMa and MPB together? Difficult
Meanwhile, the prospect of a unified solution has dimmed. At the moment, talks between GeMeMa and MPB about a merger of the two companies and a joint pool system have failed. This was probably mainly due to the question of the corporate form (GeMeMa: limited partnership vs MPB: cooperative) and the legal design of the containers to be marketed (GeMeMa: without vs MPB: with property marking).
After thorough consideration, the private brewers recommended their member companies to join GeMeMa (July 2021), because it had taken up some important points for medium-sized brewers in its contract.
What happens next?
The contracts are complex. Both approaches are feasible - an assessment shared by both societies. However, a coexistence of the systems does not seem to be a productive solution.
Everything looks like a neck-and-neck race in which the brewers will ultimately decide how a Germany-wide uniform pool system should be managed and designed. It remains exciting.
