Our brief was to create a covetable, precious gift for stakeholders and influencers to showcase and celebrate 150 years of Heineken’s commitment to transformation.

The gift needed to embody Heineken’s sustainability and circularity attitude, that goes beyond just ‘recycling’, to turning waste into literal treasure. It’s always been in Heineken’s DNA to continuously improve their impact on the environment and society, so this gift was a perfect opportunity to drive the conversation forward and show how Heineken incorporates circularity across all products.

Scale

• 3550 first batch

• 5000 total deliveries

We’ve all come a long way in reducing waste – but could we be doing more with what we have? By thinking bigger in our circular production process and reimagining the possibilities, Heineken turned waste into treasure to create: The Spirit of Heineken.

This is a one-of-a-kind spirit made with leftover alcohol generated during the Heineken 0.0 brewing process and bottled in a precious, minimal, iconic porcelain flask. Not just recycled or reused, but a treasure, recreated. To spark the conversation about transformation and circularity, in the spirit of Heineken. It conveys the tension between waste and treasure, and how to achieve transformation of resources in a novel and desirable way.

The Spirit of Heineken was gifted to key internal stakeholders and influencers.

The Spirit of Heineken was designed in collaboration with another Dutch icon, Royal Delft Porcelain, channelling into the design centuries of fine porcelain craftsmanship and knowledge.

The flask design elevates Heineken through the application of the racetrack shape with an embossed star. Delivering simplicity and recognizability of the world’s most famous beer brand, in a subtle way.

It is crafted with fine attention to detail, a precious, minimalistic icon that embodies the journey from waste to treasure. All porcelain, featuring a wooden cork, wrapped in a recycled cardboard outer box.

Each flask contains an 18.73% alcohol spirit, paying homage to the year Heineken was founded (1873). It serves as the perfect base for cocktails, featuring recipes on coasters fully integrated into the packaging.

The idea, materials, craft, and experience of the Spirit of Heineken converged to bring to life Heineken’s refreshing attitude towards circularity: transforming waste into treasure.

Heineken has set themselves ambitious upcycling and circularity goals, and the Spirit of Heineken is no exception. In this design, the progressive attitude of Heineken has been distilled into one iconic object that sparked a fresh conversation with key decision makers and influencers. Within the Heineken organisation and beyond.