This initiative will draw from the realities of today’s wine bottling landscape, while pointing firmly toward a more agile, sustainable, and customer-centric future.
Lloyd, former Managing Director of both The Park and Encirc Beverages – facilities that collectively packaged over 50% of the UK’s wine in 2024 – brings unparalleled expertise to this exploratory phase, supported by lead investor Ryan Howsam.
“I’m thrilled to be leading this opportunity to help create a packaging facility of the future, coupled with working closely with Packamama to understand and strengthen their existing bottling operations,” said Richard Lloyd. “We’re looking at the full packaging system with fresh eyes – unconstrained by legacy, informed by live data, and shaped by evolving regulation like Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and the deposit return scheme (DRS). That means exploring new technologies, formats, and supply chain partnerships that can meet the changing expectations of retailers, consumers, and the planet. The potential is significant, both in terms of what’s achievable today and what could be possible tomorrow.”
The journey begins with a close look at what’s possible today. “While today’s work focuses on strengthening what exists, the long-term ambition is to rethink what’s possible. The single-format production line is dead,” said Santiago Navarro, CEO & Founder of Packamama. “Forward-thinking retailers are calling for packaging transformation and our intention is that this facility will answer that call – not with incremental improvements, but with a fundamental rethink of how wine should be packaged, moved, and sold in a sustainable future.”
