Erica Harrop is a glassmaking enthusiast and the Founder and Owner of Global Package. She started in the winemaking industry before transitioning to packaging. It was there that she discovered her fascination with glass and high-end bottles. She worked with leading glass companies in the 1990s and 2000s before returning to school.
Erica earned her Enology degree from the University of California, Davis, studied at the University of Bordeaux in the department of D’Oenologie, and graduated with an MBA from Sonoma State University. From there, she went on to found Global Package in 2006. Erica and her team now specialize in bottles for the world of wines and spirits.
Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:
- How Erica Harrop of Global Package transitioned from winemaking to glass
- What inspired Erica to found Global Package and what sets the company apart?
- The glass industry and how it’s changed over the last 20 years
- Erica explains the customization process for bottles
- Where are the best places to source glass from?
- Designing environmentally-friendly glass and packaging
- Who does Erica look up to in the wine industry?
In this episode with Erica Harrop
For many wine and spirit connoisseurs, the presentation is half the enjoyment. A finely crafted bottle can not only catch the eye of the consumer but help tell the story of the drink. It’s an often overlooked — but crucial — part of the experience. From durability to design to touch, there is an art to producing finely made glassware. With the rise of craft beverages, that custom glassware is more popular than ever.
Erica Harrop is on the cutting edge of the bottle and packaging industry with her business, Global Package. She transitioned over from winemaking to glassmaking, finding her passion in quality and unique bottles. She has nearly 15 years of experience and has worked with some of the biggest names in her field. If anyone knows what goes into the perfect bottle, it’s her.
On this episode of Legends Behind the Craft, Drew Thomas Hendricks interviews Erica Harrop, the Founder and Owner of Global Package, to find out what goes into the bottle-making process. They cover topics such as sourcing, how the industry has evolved, and how Global Package customizes their bottles. They also dive into “wild glass” and what it means for sustainability in the world of glassmaking. Stay tuned for all this and more!
Resources Mentioned in this episode
- Barrels Ahead
- Drew Thomas Hendricks on LinkedIn
- Global Package
- Email the team at Global Package: sales@globalpackage.net
- Erica Harrop on LinkedIn
- BottleVin
- Paul Salcedo on LinkedIn
- Michael Bergin on LinkedIn
- Dr. Hoby Wedler
- Saverglass
- ESTAL
- Limerick Lane Cellars
- V. Sattui Winery
- Acquiesce Vineyards
- Bordeaux Wine
- Napa Green
- Paul Salcedo on Legends Behind the Craft
- Michael Bergin on Legends Behind the Craft
- Dr. Hoby Wedler on Legends Behind the Craft
Sponsor for this episode…
This episode is brought to you by Barrels Ahead.
Barrels Ahead is a wine and craft marketing agency that propels organic growth by using a powerful combination of content development, Search Engine Optimization, and paid search.
At Barrels Ahead, we know that your business is unique. That’s why we work with you to create a one-of-a-kind marketing strategy that highlights your authenticity, tells your story, and makes your business stand out from your competitors.
Our team at Barrels Ahead helps you leverage your knowledge so you can enjoy the results and revenue your business deserves.
So, what are you waiting for? Unlock your results today!
To learn more, visit barrelsahead.com or email us at hello@barrelsahead.com to schedule a strategy call.
Episode Transcript
Intro 0:03
Welcome to the Legends Behind the Craft podcast where we feature top leaders in the wine and craft beverage industry, with your host to Drew Thomas Hendricks. Now let’s get started with the show.
Drew Thomas Hendricks 0:20
Drew Thomas Hendricks here I’m the host of the Legends Behind the Craft podcast where I talk with leaders in the wine and craft beverage industry. From tech gurus like Paul Salcedo at BottleVin, whose innovative technology enables wineries to turn their wine labels into a digital experience. Today’s guest Erica Harrop, who’s global packaging company enables wineries and craft beverage producers to access innovative bottle design source throughout the world. Today’s episode is sponsored by Barrels Ahead barrels head we work with you to implement a one of a kind marketing strategy when that highlights your authenticity, tells your story and connects you with your ideal customers. Erica In short, if you’re a business looking to retain a winery or craft beverage producers a client Barrels Ahead we’ll figure out a plan to make it happen. Go to BarrelsAhead.com today to learn more. Now before I introduce today’s guest, I want to give a big thank you to Michael Bergin. on last week’s show, Mike and I discuss the latest innovations in screen printing for bottles. If you’re looking to level up emotional impact of a wine brand, you’ve got to check out this episode. I was truly amazed to learn about some of the color possibilities that are now available through screen printing. I’m super excited to talk with today’s guests. Erica Harrop owner and founder of Global Package and I want to thank sensory branding expert Dr. Hoby Wedler for introducing us. Erica founded Global Package 15 years ago, after leading successful glass companies for over 20 years. Her international education and analogy set her up to be a great partner to the companies that work with her and her team. Their international reach makes them a leader in the class sourcing. Welcome to the show, Erica.
Erica Harrop 1:51
Thanks, Drew. Glad to be here.
Drew Thomas Hendricks 1:52
I’m glad to have you on So Erica, tell us a little bit about yourself.
Erica Harrop 1:56
Well, I have always wanted to be in the wine industry since I was about 16 years old. I love the aspect of the agricultural side being a scientist out in the vineyard was fascinating to me. So I became a winemaker. And then back in the 80s found a tremendous opportunity working in the glass side of the business and it really developed my passion both for the wine industry but also for the glass industry, the wine industry because I got to visit the most beautiful places in the world like like the Okanagan up in Canada and I got to be in Oregon and and see amazing things being done in different wine regions while I was representing glass companies and and so I fell into that and fortunately speak other languages so I was able to travel around Europe and visit the glass plants directly. So it’s made a very holistic life for me been very fortunate.
Drew Thomas Hendricks 2:49
That is awesome. So your backgrounds in in knowledge in winemaking, where did you Where did you get your education?
Erica Harrop 2:54
I went to school and started out at Cal in a different industry in a different field and in chemical engineering. Then I went to Davis got my degree there also have a degree from the University of Bordeaux in winemaking as well. And I got my MBA also at Sonoma State.
Drew Thomas Hendricks 3:12
Oh nice. Nice. Well, what was it like visiting learning in Bordeaux?
Erica Harrop 3:16
Back in the early 80s. It was fascinating. What was really interesting I was 20 years old. And I was incredibly fortunate to be in school with some of the young contemporaries who came from the parents owning wineries in Bordeaux. And I was by accident set up to work for the Moueix group and was very lucky to have spent time with Christian Moueix and Jean Claude Boisset some of the great historic names in our industry who are brilliant, and we had a heatwave hit in Bordeaux in 1982. So they turn to the California who had never really worked much and I’d worked in one winery but not not seriously and said, What do we do? I don’t know what you do. And if you have a heatwave, I know what we do in California. We have like air conditioning and the you know, glycol tanks and I don’t know. So it was really a funny experience actually.
Drew Thomas Hendricks 4:15
Oh man, that must have been fantastic. It was hard to make it was a year and a half. How did you make the transition from winemaker to class?
Erica Harrop 4:22
So I had been working in a few wineries and also for the Remy Martin distillery, which was here in Carneros for a number of years and under Jack Davies, another person who I was so fortunate to know, brilliant in the industry, having come from a different industry, again, being very young and impressions by some really brilliant people. And how did I transition basically, it was tough in the 80s. The industry in mid 80s wasn’t really as flourishing as it is now. wineries were smaller, being a woman, young woman, it was difficult I was asked often, you know can I lift a barrel to this Second row. And the only thing in my mind was I don’t think anybody should be lifting a barrel, the second row, but no matter what I said, they just say obviously, that’s you’re not going to so. But anyway, I ended up running into some French people who had just arrived to run a company called Demptos Glass. And they had just arrived in 1987, actually late 86, the 1987, I was playing sports and met the the new General Manager, and he needed help in the company. And I was middle of early spring, and I was looking for opportunities. And I took the job on a whim, like, you know, you’re 24 years old, and why not try this for a while and travel and which I did, and I really enjoyed it. Then I went back into production again and struggled to make minimum wage and realize that I had had this great experience and was was requested to come back into the glass side. So and found that was really my niche. I think that’s the message I would give to any young people you know, you nobody says, I want to be in the glass industry someday that’s not something people are. You find this wonderful opportunity and it provides you a wealth of opportunity that that enriches your life really traveled my whole life. It’s been it’s been great.
Drew Thomas Hendricks 6:20
It’s phenomenal. Aside from traveling, what excites you most about the glass industry? What’s kept you in it for so long?
Erica Harrop 6:26
I think it’s like a puzzle. I mean, the glass industry, the way you make glass is very much like winemaking. I’ve always said to anybody who I’m in conversation with about bottles, and they say I have this little thing about the ball. It’s not exactly the same as this other bottle, you know, the in the same production I go, well, bottles are like a living thing. No, each bottle will be slightly different. And that’s the way it is a little bit like wine where every bottle of wine you could anticipate might be slightly different from another. The wine itself that is so I’m fascinated by by glass forming to watch glass be made is a beautiful thing to watch hot lava glass come out of the furnace and turn into some beautiful shape. And to help people understand how to make those shapes how to come up with your own unique shape. It’s those glasses. It’s like a puzzle. I really do enjoy.
Drew Thomas Hendricks 7:17
That is that it is amazing. I’ve watched a few YouTube videos of them remain. It’s just it’s hard.
Erica Harrop 7:22
We have some on our website. I believe that the videos are still there. And I’m there I was taking pictures of videos. They all look the same after you know, 30 years. But I still take videos because I love it.
Drew Thomas Hendricks 7:33
I never get tired of the glow that warms? Yeah, yeah. It’s just amazing. So yeah, where did the idea so you worked in the glass industry for 20 years. And then then he founded your own company Global Package. Right, the idea for that come from.
Erica Harrop 7:45
So what I had seen, I had worked for a very well known Glass Company out of Europe called Saverglass. And prior to that I had worked for a company that no longer was that company, that company being Demptos Glass, my started. And when I we had originally been at dem posts, I was very fortunate to go often to different glass factories all over Europe. So I knew 16 glass factories, and as Demptos grew and then sold and became a different company now called Saxco. They weren’t that company Demptos hosts that that original company no longer really existed where they were interested in sourcing the unique, exceptional product out of some factory in Europe, it was much more turning as companies get bigger as they will they would start to mainstream the products that they want to work with. So I realized there are all these opportunities that weren’t being tapped into. And after many years in the glass industry, you know, one dream that every winemaker has is to have their own brand someday. And that was something that was in my mind for years. That, you know, when What more do I have to provide in my industry. And I realized that I really wanted to have my own company, I wanted to be able to give it my direction exclusively, as much as anything would be exclusively your own direction. And so I knew that there were all these factories that were not really being represented. And because I’d spent many years visiting them. And because I had also then spent many years being in international shows and continuing to train these people. The glass industry is a very, very small industry. Everybody knows each other. So when I wanted to go on my own, they they were very, very welcoming. They were very happy to have a person who understood the industry, who understood the European mentality of the industry, and could bring the glass to the United States. I was very fortunate to have suppliers who were completely backing me.
Drew Thomas Hendricks 9:41
It was so nice to have a very, like a cultivating environment versus having to like claw your way in.
Erica Harrop 9:46
Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Yeah, you know this thing. You have to know a lot about your industry. You have to have conviction that you know that you’re doing the right thing. And that’s I’d say the hardest part about starting your own business. I will tell you that the tide is very steep. Wrong against it, you have to have complete conviction that you that you have a place. And that and that, that your suppliers will really be there and understand what your purpose is.
Drew Thomas Hendricks 10:14
And in the pre show, we talked about your name Global Package. In First, it just seems like a very generic name. But you went in and explained it was I was impressed that you’ve got there’s some thought behind that. Yeah. Tell us about that.
Erica Harrop 10:26
Yeah, I like the I like the double entendre of things. I’ve always enjoyed that. And for me, there’s, there should always be a twist so that people have to think just a little bit longer about something Global Package. It’s, it’s the idea that it’s not that the whole bottle matters, the global package matters. So that’s our goal has always been not only to provide the glass, but to also look for other options that would make that whole package looks better. But on the other side of that, also, the global package is the fact that we are searching globally for that package that we are looking to source anywhere to make sure that we’re finding the best match for the customer.
Drew Thomas Hendricks 11:08
Yeah, searching everywhere over the last, you know, 15 years, I’m sure you found many other different sources for glass, how has the landscape changed over the last, you know, 15/20 years for glass production?
Erica Harrop 11:20
I think that’s the hardest thing for our our client base, I should say the whole wine industry and the spirits industry to really understand how much the glass industry, although the technology of the industry has not changed, the landscape has changed dramatically. And it really I mean, when I started in the glass industry, what made them those glass unique, the only the the initial impetus was that the color dead leaf did not exist outside of France. It was only made in France. And there were Francophiles Who said I really want dead leaf. And so Demptos glass which was founded by two freshmen, one of them being fully Demptos, and then other a freshman in the glass business in France, said let’s import dead leaf. So that’s how I’ve done plus glastar.
Drew Thomas Hendricks 12:08
It’s a well known dead leaves to the color.
Erica Harrop 12:12
The green color. It’s the it’s the yellowish color of like Chardonnay, which now you see a lot more Chardonnays in antique, which was also a color that also originated only in France. So if we think about what the industry is done in, in really not a very long period, well, depends on how old you are law in, you know, 35/40 year span, we now have deadly, we have antique made domestically. These are not these are not unique colors to the American market in the last 15 years since we’ve started. And that’s the grade the what we talked about here at global package when you started a company 15 years ago and say, What did you do for the first four or five years? What did you do for the next four or five years? Well, here, it’s almost we can we can map it out to almost 12 months, that every 12 months, it’s seems like the industry is changing so quickly. And what’s nice about a smaller company is that we keep changing with that industry. So for instance, when I started in 2006, that was just before the Great Recession, everybody knows, I think if anybody was over the age of eight, they probably know that there was something going on. And so at that time, when I first started, my goal was only to be working with European glass, because that’s what I knew. And the only alternative would be domestic glass. And 15 years ago, there were very, very few specialty bottles being made domestically, that wasn’t really, you didn’t look domestically for anything that’s special, even if maybe they were making it. But during the recession, the currency exchange blew out blew up, it went to 1.5 $5 to the euro. So if I were going to sell a bottle at a euro, oh, I told you it was worth $1 to is $1. To sell now I’m sorry, that bottle just changed to $1.55. Because a little disruptive. So we can see this happening and realizing that this wasn’t this, this was going to become very, very disruptive, you know, two years into Global Package. And I was very fortunate because I met up with a supplier in Europe. And I was visiting them in Spain, a group called ESTAL who are very good partners of ours. And they I was in his office and I said what is this bottle this is this is something I really like but it’s I know it’s not made by the by a producer I know. And there was a little smile on the edge of his face. And he said, Well, we’re setting up an office in China. But I already knew there were companies looking in China, other friends of mine in the glass industry were in Australia and they said we’re bringing in glass from China. I said that a good idea and they said well, we’re using it for our pressurized vessels and in the glass industry. If you are selling pressurized glass to a market You better be darn good at what you’re doing, because pressurize glass, if it’s poorly made will explode when they said, Oh, no, we’re bringing in millions of bottles from China. You know, I knew that I needed to find a way. And it was like a miracle that the the way was right in front of me with a stock, they knew that they had to find a US partner because the bigger markets for is in the United States. And they were looking for opportunity to start a company and be a global player in the market. So since 2008, we have been importing bottles out of China, we have we work together with an office in Shanghai, the ESTAL office. And so that is a huge change in the industry. Since 2010 2011, you start to see a huge influx, because you can have really nice glass made in China. What’s special about China also is that we can run specialty shapes, at medium size runs all the way up to big runs. But we can make 20,000 cases of a very nice looking bottle, and at a very, very good price. And the price is consistent with us pricing, where in Europe, we have more expensive, right, which fluctuates more. And we also have the currency, which fluctuates more. So those things affect how, you know, no customer wants to say I want to order glass in March, and I want it in July. But I have no idea what you’re going to charge me they want consistency, that’s really important. So that’s the job of any good supplier is to do the best we can to have consistency in quality and consistency and pricing. It’s so So China, huge factor in the last basically in the last 1314 years huge factor.
Drew Thomas Hendricks 16:53
And that opened up the doors for customization.
Erica Harrop 16:55
That’s right, we were able we we’ve you know, it’s it’s like when you start a company, you have to be able to provide many things and get people to start to come in to you to actually do the things that you really want to do, which is customization. So we are customizing bottles at at 10 to 20,000 cases out of Asia. And we are also customizing bottles in Europe. So that is really the the the apex of what global package does, we really want to provide the highest quality, customized bottle. That’s what we that’s what we really love doing.
Drew Thomas Hendricks 17:34
That’s fascinating. Now, I know very little about bottle customization. Now if I’m a winery wanting to kind of, you know, stand out on the shelf, aside from the normal Bordeaux bottle, how does how does a winery go about starting? Do they work with you to design the bottle? Or does their designer design a bottle? And then send it to you? How does the customization process work?
Erica Harrop 17:53
Yeah, well, we have tremendous designers in the United States. And worldwide they’ve been designers are you know, people say do you do design, it’s like that’s a whole industry. I highly respect design, I highly respect great design. So we what we what we understand is how to work with the glass how to get the outcome to work properly. Sometimes people say I really like the existing bottle, can I put my logo in it? I think I have an example. here like so this is what we did very well. But we’ve done this for for tsutsui. We they have their crest, we worked with the designer, to implement the size and to work with the shape that we already had. This is a shape that we designed and that that the customer then want like that shape and said Is there a way we can do that. And it was a very simple project that we did with the designer. Other times, they totally design the bottle through design. But again, anytime that we can work together with a customer, we end up with a better outcome. Here’s one that we did for Limerick Lane. This came out last year. Oh that’s brand they want they wanted a bottle that would work for all their varietals. So mainly mainly Zinfandel is their strength, but other varieties as well. So they didn’t want to have a classic Bordeaux classic Burgundy, they wanted their own shape. This is their own winery design and then putting the oil inside the neck like that. And so the designer she worked on it at length and the gold they they set certain parameters.
Drew Thomas Hendricks 19:27
I like what they’re doing there. That’s that’s really great.
Erica Harrop 19:30
Really, it’s really neat. It’s it’s super beautiful. I just think this bottle is great.
Drew Thomas Hendricks 19:34
It’s almost like a blend, like a Yeah, like a step up from an obreon bottle. And it’s got that great element.
Erica Harrop 19:42
They may not want you saying that.
Drew Thomas Hendricks 19:43
Oh no. I would say to step up, but yeah, it’s been a stone. So a lot of Limerick way back in the day, actually like they’re probably changed the logo many times since then. But that’s the first time I’ve seen that logo. I loved it.
Erica Harrop 19:58
Yeah, yeah. So it And they really wanted to come out with something very different. And and so it’s Jake, the owner wants to really, like you’re saying like the obreon. He wants to have a presence in the industry wants people to recognize what they’re doing. And I think it’s terrific in. And another one actually, Susan, Acquiesce, this is a shape that they wanted to lightweight the bottle that they had. And so this is a really beautiful bottle, and they put their own artwork down in the base. I don’t know if you can.
Drew Thomas Hendricks 20:28
Oh, yeah, no, I can see I haven’t I have not seen the custom base like that. That’s fantastic.
Erica Harrop 20:33
Very, very, very cool. What they did. So-
Drew Thomas Hendricks 20:36
What is that? I can’t quite see.
Erica Harrop 20:38
It’s the woman in the vineyard. I don’t know if you can see I can see it. Yeah, yeah, it’s really, really neat. And it came out extremely well, there’s certain things that as a glass producer, you’re you, you really, really hope it’s going to I mean, you know, it can be done, you don’t know if it’s going to succeed for the outcome of the customer, right? say, well, it is there. And they’re saying, but I wanted something slightly different. In this case, what she wanted, she got and she’s very, very happy with because it actually reflects up because there’s a slightly thick base here on the bottom will reflect up into the class and you can see it it magnifies it like a loop of fact that really cool.
Drew Thomas Hendricks 21:14
I wonder if it could use that as like a stamp for a cookie. I’m curious kind of just the cookie, you’ve got?
Erica Harrop 21:20
Yeah, you could be drinking the line while you’re stamping your cookies. You’re absolutely right. It’s a great idea. It didn’t occur to me, I’ll know that. You want to bottle the stamp of cookie?
Drew Thomas Hendricks 21:30
You mentioned how you know they made the bottle lighter, that is a new that is something that new that you guys actually have a light bottle line? We do. And yeah, it’s like environmentalist, I mean via environmental issues and just lean packaging. Talk a little bit about that.
Erica Harrop 21:45
So when we think about environmental, I mean, everybody comes from a different point of view, they come in from a different angle and say, Well, what I really want is something and I said, Well, no, are you you don’t need to have the lightest weight bottle to succeed at aiming more towards environmental direction. Many bottles are over 700 grams. And and you know, what is that a pound and a half, you know, it’s it’s quite heavy, you can have an absolutely beautiful bottle under 700 grams, you know, this bottle here is quite large, but it’s only 680 grams. And then again, personalized and such, you know, the same with all of these, these are all around 700 or less. So the first thing is to consider how much money how much how much of a carbon footprint are you creating per kilo of glass. And you can greatly reduce that by by reducing glass content. Also, not only in the glass production side, but also in transportation where we can reduce transport for shipping the product around but also when it’s full by 15 to 20%. Because we can get that much more glass onto a pallet. So not only in the grab glass forming side. And I would say that the glass industry, although it is a very old fashion industry, the more modern factories are very, very conscious of sustainability because they know that they’re potentially big, big contaminator as they’re putting in these, these scrubbers that take the co2 and the no out of out of the exhaust and recapture that. So there are some very sophisticated methods now for for the glass industry and for global package. The elegant lightline. When we did a design that that was what we did originally for the Chinese to produce in China, to bring into the United States was to say we’re not just going to make a standard product, we want to make something that’s a cut above we want to provide a quality product into the US market that’s going to have a unique shapes that will be our shape, because our goal always was to provide more sophisticated looking packaging. So we divided the design the elegant light, the elegant light line is glass, it normally is around 100 grams less than its counterpart. There’ll be a bottle that’s very fancy straight side or very fancy, tapered bottle. We’re aiming at designing a bottle that is in the same category, but going to be lighter weight that you end up like here’s a 600 gram bottle over here. This is a very sophisticated looking bottle. It looks like a big heavyweight bottle next to one of the big heavyweights. This is a 600 gram bottle. It’s got a beautiful paper. It’s about a half inch taller than a standard bottle, just by good design just by saying what are the cues that people want? People want their ball to be a little bit bigger. Well Does that mean you have to be heavier? No, the taller you round out the shoulders you make it look more more. You make it look wider, more more. Yeah. And then give it a bigger neck. Give it a fatter neck so that again Looks like it has more volume, more capacity inside, but more volume of glass when it packed doesn’t. So all of the elegant lightline are all 31.5 capsule size. So 31.5 capsule size means they all have the same larger neck, whether they’re burgundy or Bordeaux. And you can standardize. Again, environmental is about how can we use less material to satisfy the needs of our clients and their consumers. So they can use the same capsule and they’re not buying a huge variety of capsules and satisfy every category that they’re going to produce. So if they’ve got a high end, they’ve got a medium and a low end, we can have a bottle it’s very elegant, three different shapes all using the same capsule, Bordeaux, Burgundy, so that’s what we did.
Drew Thomas Hendricks 25:45
That’s fantastic. So whiteness bottles and in shape where do you see the next innovations happening in the, in the class industry that you guys are looking at?
Erica Harrop 25:54
The next innovations on a lot of things that are happening are going to be in the in the spirits industry, it often is, is what’s pushing the wine industry because decoration. Um, you mentioned Mike Bergin, what Mike’s doing for decoration is just phenomenal. I mean, that just puts people’s brands in a new category,
Drew Thomas Hendricks 26:15
He was talking about iridescent inks and glow in the dark inks.
Erica Harrop 26:19
It’s great, isn’t it, I mean, imagine that you’re taking your wine, you know, you’re focusing your wine to be in a certain type of a market, you can make a subcategory of your wine to go into a certain market, and it can glow in the dark and the clubs in Vegas or whatever. That’s great. You know, again, we always talk about the fact that we’re, hey, we talk less about being mind stops, but still, how do we provide our product, you know, to a different market than the one that looks just like us. So that’s where I think my burden is right on install also is designing many, many different, you know, when we talk about the environment, when we think about what a stall is doing, which is really, one would say evolutionary to the glass industry, they are making what’s called Wild glass and wild glass. That’s almost 100% recycled. now realizing a glass furnace, if we can reduce, I forget what the number is, if you can, if you can reduce, if you can add 10% more recycled, you’re, you’re producing some huge number less carbon dioxide out of the furnace. So in the case of wild glass, almost 100%, the environmental aspect of this glass is amazing wine glass, it’s basically at this point we only have it in in the lighter color, they’re going to be making it in the darker color in the next few months.
Drew Thomas Hendricks 27:42
Can the consumer, tell that its wild glasses?
Erica Harrop 27:44
Well, looks like Well, what’s making it unique is not only the color, so imagine that you go into a store. And what do we know about the glass industry, we say I want my dead leaf color to look this color of deadly, I want my Flint to be purely Flint in wild glass. If you’re saying 100% recycled glass, you can’t decide what the color will be. Now they aren’t going to only put into the furnace, certain colors. But if you say, gee, the last time I bought it, it was a little bit more blue. But this time it’s a little bit more green or a little darker than it was last time, then I would say terrific. That’s what makes wild glass so unique. You You’re going to get something different probably every time. That’s not your that that’s actually the the attribute of the glass that you show that you are being environmental by by not marginalizing the furnace when it’s in production. So every time we have to throw away 10 or 20% of the glass, for some reason, like Oh, we don’t like the color, we were not going to produce for four hours while we correct the color in the furnace that’s 4% of capacity that can’t be produced, not for four hours of capacity. If we say Gee, I noticed that there’s a little blemished little teeny seeds. Seeds are like little bubbles in the glass, oh, I don’t like those little seeds in the glass, you need to dispose of all that that’s another 5% of the production that goes down the tubes. So things that are cosmetic, are often the largest reason why glass gets disposed in the furnace. Why the output of the furnace isn’t that great. So while glass is saying keep all the cosmetics in things that are only visual, they don’t affect the quality of the glass. So that is the selling point of while glasses say that throw out that old idea of what a perfect bottle should look like and consider the environment. And so that is something that’s going to be very, very different for the future of the industry because I do believe astone wants factories to do this. Right now they are having a factory in Italy do this but in the future. They want to see the industry move in that direction. It will be healthy for the glass industry. It’ll be healthy for the for the environment. It’s a great opportunity. I think for the world as we know it. Imagine that you are getting some organic food products and jars made in glass. We all know we would rather have milk Glass, but just imagine that it’s in a color. That is, that is always not the same color, you know that, that that’s actually meant to be that way.
Drew Thomas Hendricks 30:08
Those variations and imperfections are in a lot of industries or a new market beauty. I mean, it shows that or decimal nature of it versus just the standard consistency. Yep. It’s great to see the glass industry moving in that direction.
Erica Harrop 30:21
Yeah, yeah. Well, we we, we would love to see the education pass on through both our client base, and people are interested in it’s one of those, it’s like, well, putting your foot in the water slowly. But we have some people who have really embraced it, and very excited. And often it’s in smaller quantities. But I mean, really, in the last six months, I’ve seen a huge change. It’s been worked on for almost two years. And again, it’s happening in Europe. So everything here, our adoption rate for unique packaging is much, much slower than it is in Europe.
Drew Thomas Hendricks 30:55
I can think of a couple dozen wineries that are very into biodynamics very into sustainability, this will just have add to their story and just further support that they’re walking the walk and talking the talk.
Erica Harrop 31:06
No, you’re absolutely right. The hard part, of course, is we know the hurdle that you can never get around, is that you still have to transported here and you have the currency exchange. So it’s stones, European glass, it’s not going to be people often put environmental with low cost. And not always but you know, you, you have to start somewhere. So it is doing extremely well in Europe. And I want to see more and more of it coming over here. So that’s also where when the spirits industry I’m seeing I’m seeing this work in the in the wine industry, in the spirits industry, they’re already used to spending a little bit more money on glass. So I am seeing a little bit higher adoption rate in spirits.
Drew Thomas Hendricks 31:46
That’s good to know. So Erica, what else should people know about Global Package?
Erica Harrop 31:50
What should we know about Global Package that we are now also working with domestic laughs We started about four years ago. And we are very, very fortunate that we did that about a year or less before we started having duties and tariffs. So we were already well entrenched in developing the domestic glass market that we could, that we could sell here. Before we were having again to shift our focus, because the Asian glass, which was considered a good price became more expensive. So that we have domestic we have Asian glass, we also have European glass custom molds we do in both Asia and Europe depends on the on the design on on the request of the customer, what they what, where do they envision the future of that product to be? And, yeah.
Drew Thomas Hendricks 32:40
That’s fantastic. As we wrap down the show, I was trying to ask people, you know, who do you admire right now in the wine industry, or what organizations are standing out to you?
Erica Harrop 32:49
I was really, really excited to be called by Napa Green. Napa Green is the wine industry is wine industry focused, looking at sustainability looking at the environment, I’m very happy to be part of their group. I think that a lot of the women’s groups that are supporting the the wine industry and encouraging women to try to participate in different ways in the industry, I am members of some of those groups or participate as often as I can. I, I just I think that the industry is there’s no other industry like like the UN I when I speak of the industry, of course, I’m speaking of the wine industry, because it’s it’s in my blood. It’s what I love. So I would say, really proud of a lot of the women in the industry, what they what they’re doing, and the fact that they never they Nope, never look around. They keep looking forward. And that makes a big difference, I think in our industry.
Drew Thomas Hendricks 33:42
That’s excellent. Hey, we’ve been talking with Erica Harrop, founder of Global Package. Erica, where can people learn more about you?
Erica Harrop 33:49
You can come to www.globalpackage.net. And so we would love to have people come in and inquire. You can also write to sales@globalpackage.net and you will eventually get to me.
Drew Thomas Hendricks 34:05
That sounds good. All right. Erica, thank you so much. Bye, and thank you, everyone.
Erica Harrop 34:10
Thanks a lot, Drew. It’s great.
Outro 34:18
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