Avantium partners with Gepack and Frubaça to trial PEF bottles for functional beverage shots
Avantium N.V., a leader in renewable and circular polymer materials, has announced a collaboration with Portuguese bottle manufacturer Gepack and functional beverage producer Frubaça to explore the use of PEF (polyethylene furanoate), marketed under the releaf® brand, in small-format bottles for functional beverage shots. The announcement was made on 29 June 2026.
The project brings together partners across the value chain to demonstrate PEF’s application in a compact and distinctive shot format — a category that combines strong consumer appeal with a genuine need for high-performance, more sustainable packaging. Gepack, a Portugal-based manufacturer of PET bottles, will produce the bottles using Avantium’s PEF. Frubaça, a Portuguese producer of fresh juices and functional beverages, will handle filling operations for the shot-based beverage applications.
PEF is a high-performance, plant-based and recyclable material designed to offer improved barrier performance compared to conventional fossil-based plastics, helping to preserve flavor and quality in beverages. By applying PEF to shot formats, the partners aim to demonstrate how renewable materials can be integrated into existing beverage applications and supply chains. The collaboration focuses on validating processing and performance across the full production chain, from bottle manufacturing through to filling.
“This project demonstrates how new materials can be integrated into existing bottle production processes,” commented Lígia Passos, Head of R&D at Gepack. “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: “Collaborating across the value chain is essential to assess how new materials perform in real applications. This project allows us to evaluate PEF across the full process, in a compact and distinctive shot format — a category that combines strong consumer appeal with a real need for high-performance, more sustainable packaging.”
Avantium’s YXY® Technology catalytically converts plant-based sugars into FDCA (furandicarboxylic acid), the key building block for PEF. The company has successfully demonstrated the technology at its pilot plant in Geleen, the Netherlands, and is in the process of starting the world’s first commercial plant for FDCA in Delfzijl, the Netherlands. PEF, known under the brand name releaf®, is an EU registered trademark of Avantium.
About Avantium
Avantium is a pioneering commercial-stage company focused on renewable and circular polymer materials. The company develops and commercializes innovative technologies for the production of materials based on sustainable carbon feedstocks — carbon from biomass or carbon from the air (CO₂). Its most advanced technology, YXY®, converts plant-based sugars into FDCA, the building block for PEF. Avantium works in partnership with like-minded companies around the globe to develop revolutionary renewable chemistry solutions from invention to commercial scale. Avantium’s shares are listed on Euronext Amsterdam and Euronext Brussels (symbol: AVTX).
About Gepack
Gepack is a Portugal-based manufacturer of PET bottles, providing packaging solutions for the beverage industry with a focus on innovation and sustainability.
About Frubaça
Frubaça is a Portuguese producer of fresh juices and functional beverages, committed to quality and innovation in the beverage sector.
Source: Avantium press release, 29 June 2026