Sapling Spirits, the climate-positive British spirits brand, is reaching new heights in partnership with Virgin Atlantic which takes Sapling’s vodka into the skies. As of 1st March, Sapling has entered a partnership with Virgin Atlantic to launch a new eco-friendly 5cl aluminium bottle on board. The new format will be the first of its kind across the aviation industry, with Virgin Atlantic being the first airline to fly the miniatures. The exclusive collaboration underscores Sapling’s unwavering commitment to the environment, helping Virgin Atlantic reduce its glass & plastic waste consumption. As a sign of their commitment to climate positive initiatives, Sapling and Virgin Atlantic have also set a target of planting over 20,000 trees throughout this year of partnership.
Since 2018, Sapling Spirits has been at the forefront of driving sustainable practices in the drinks world and has been named one of the most innovative spirits brands in the industry. The company is well known for its four key pillars of sustainability: education, packaging innovation, regenerative farming and tree planting. The company champions bars and consumers to embrace a zero-waste philosophy when creating cocktails and Co-Founders, Ed Faulkener and Ivo Devereux have made it the brand’s mission to plant 1m trees by 2027.
Launching in line with B Corp month, the new aluminium bottles will be available across Virgin Atlantic’s Fleet, catering to passengers in Economy and Premium cabins. Virgin Atlantic will be the first airline to launch and offer this innovation, helping the airline to achieve its vision of removing plastic from its onboard offerings entirely. Sapling’s Raspberry & Hibiscus Vodka using wonky raspberries has also been available in Upper Class since 2023 in a delicious cocktail named the Raspberry Fizz.
“We are simply delighted to partner with Sapling again, this time to offer the company’s award-winning Climate Positive vodka for our Economy and Premium customers,” said Shiada Drysdale, Beverage Lead at Virgin Atlantic. “The brand new and exciting aluminium format supports us with moving one step closer to reaching our sustainability goals, and we’re so pleased that this long-awaited innovation has come to fruition and will be served onboard our fleet.”
“This is such an exciting moment for the brand, we have spent over a year working on this packaging innovation for Virgin, so to see it on board will be a milestone for us,” said Ivo Devereux, Co-Founder of Sapling Spirits. “At Sapling, we are always looking for new initiatives to help progress sustainability in the drinks industry. We pioneered a 5L eco refill scheme in the on-trade and we are excited to partner with Virgin for this new innovation. With every sip of vodka consumed, passengers join us in planting thousands of trees whilst playing their part in helping to reduce glass and plastic consumption.”
Sapling 5ml Aluminum Vodka Bottles are available now on board 38 Virgin Atlantic flights.
