Renewable chemistry pioneer Avantium is expanding the footprint of its plant-based plastic alternative into one of the beverage industry’s fastest-growing segments.

The Dutch technology company has announced a value-chain collaboration with Portuguese bottle manufacturer Gepack and juice producer Frubaça to trial its 100% bio-based polymer, PEF (polyethylene furanoate), for small-format functional beverage shots.

Marketed under the brand name releaf, PEF offers a circular, fully recyclable alternative to fossil-based plastics. Rather than relying on petroleum, Avantium utilises its proprietary YXY technology to catalytically convert plant-based sugars into FDCA (furandicarboxylic acid), the essential building block of PEF. The resulting material boasts a significantly lower carbon footprint than traditional polyethylene terephthalate (PET), glass, or aluminium.

Solving the barrier challenge for functional shots

Functional beverage shots — concentrated drinks typically centred on immunity, wellness, or energy — present a rigorous challenge for traditional packaging. Because these products often contain delicate, cold-pressed natural ingredients, they are highly vulnerable to oxygen degradation, flavour spoiling, and aroma loss.

This sensitivity makes the format an ideal testbed for PEF’s highly advanced gas barrier properties. Compared to conventional PET, PEF provides:

• An oxygen barrier that is 10 times more effective
• A carbon dioxide barrier that is 15 times more effective
• A water vapour barrier that is 3 times more effective

By isolating the beverage from external oxygen, the polymer preserves freshness and naturally extends shelf life. Furthermore, PEF’s high mechanical strength enables manufacturers to lightweight their packaging, using less overall raw material to create a sturdy, thin-walled bottle.

A full value-chain validation

This collaborative pilot is explicitly designed as a real-world stress test rather than a localised lab trial. Under the agreement, Gepack is using its existing manufacturing infrastructure to produce the miniature shot-format bottles. From there, Frubaça handles the industrial filling process with its premium functional beverages.

The initiative allows all three partners to actively monitor how the sustainable material behaves across the entire lifecycle — from initial blowing and high-speed filling lines to storage and retail distribution.

Lígia Passos, head of R&D at Gepack, highlighted the workflow’s adaptability: “This project demonstrates how new materials can be integrated into existing bottle production processes. Working with Avantium and partners enables us to evaluate PEF in a real application and across the value chain.”

Bineke Posthumus, commercial director at Avantium, added that the compact, consumer-facing shot category is the perfect fit for the high-performance material. As major beverage brands actively seek to decouple their supply chains from fossil resources, validating PEF’s behaviour in small formats paves the way for wider industrial adoption across the broader global juice, smoothie, and wellness markets.