iPRO crosses a major milestone this week with the unveiling of its new rPET bottle packaging. Most notably, iPRO Student Edition bottles which are now 100% fully rPET, including the sleeve and cap.

Furthermore, iPRO has ended the use of plastic wrapping for iPRO Student Edition cases and replaced it with recyclable FSC Certified cardboard for stronger protection during shipping. Due to iPRO Student Edition being developed with wellbeing in mind, it’s now fully school-compliant and available in the UK and Ireland, meaning more children can get one of their 5-a-day in a tasty drink, available in 3 refreshing flavours: Berry Mix, Mango and Sour Cherry.

While it won’t be mandatory for caps to remain attached to bottles until 2024, iPRO is getting ahead of the directive by introducing tethered sports caps to the vitamin-rich iPRO Hydrate range, packaged in new 30% rPET bottles and available in four thirst quenching flavours: Berry Mix, Orange & Pineapple, Citrus Blend and Mango. The tamper band and cap remains attached to the bottle even after it's been opened, making it easier to recycle the entire product. For greater legibility, production and best-before dates are now printed on the neck of the bottle.

Sophie Christy, Global Commercial Director at iPRO, says:

"We've seen tremendous growth over the past 12 months globally, thanks in large to the support of our board and shareholders. This support has allowed us to meet the increasing demands of our customers by investing in product production, staff, and infrastructure. The health and wellbeing category within functional drinks has seen a 15% increase in sales in the past year alone, and we anticipate even further growth for 2023.”

Both iPRO Hydrate and iPRO Student Edition bottles will carry the signature 'recommended by parkrun' endorsement to highlight the brand's global hydration partnership. While parkrun is the largest NHS social prescribed activity in the UK, iPRO’s NHS C-QUIN approved low-sugar drinks range offers a healthy rehydration solution for consumers of all ages.

Due to the fast growth of the business, and in response to the increased consumer demand for healthy, functional drinks, iPRO have just agreed a contract with two additional factories across Europe, increasing iPRO’s production capacity. With a high-speed production facility working seven days a week and 24 hours a day, iPRO predicts to produce around 8 million iPRO Student Edition 300ml bottles with an additional 4 million available if required.

Rob Waldron, Procurement Operations Director at iPRO, says: “We have already completed the first production run with a team in full attendance to watch the line running and sleeving at over 20,000 - 25,000 bottles an hour, ensuring the quality of the product and the packaging of the product was completed to the highest standards. It was fantastic to see the product mixed, bottled and sleeved ready for the launch!”

iPRO’s manufacturing site has welcomed the brand as its first UK customer and its high-speed aseptic filling line has been fully revamped to service its needs for 2023. Due to this, iPRO expects to produce around 5 million iPRO Hydrate 500ml bottles in 2023 with additional capacity for another 3 million.