Closing the circle: WineKeg joins the KeyKeg-reseller network

OneCircle is a global family business with headquarters in The Netherlands. OneCircle produces KeyKeg – a lightweight, strong, sustainable Keg that maximizes shelf life, keeps beverages fresh and allows them to be dispensed without CO₂.

Through their value chain, based on the circular economy, empty KeyKegs can either be returned to OneCircle for recovery of circular materials used to produce new KeyKegs, or added to local recycling programmes.

Its customers are spread throughout Europe, the Americas, Australia and Asia. And the KeyKeg market in South Africa is growing steadily, with a wide application that includes wine, beer, cider, coffee, kombucha, cocktails, and RTDs among others.

Enter WineKeg

Cape Town company WineKeg was an early adopter of KeyKeg in South Africa. The company launched in 2015 to offer KeyKeg as a superior wine-on-tap solution for hospitality businesses that were disappointed with the quality of wine dispensed from wine-in-box packaging or traditional Kegs.

Over the years, the WineKeg team built a solid understanding of KeyKeg, accumulating extensive technical experience of using KeyKeg in the South African wine market. They are therefore well-equipped to explain the benefits of using KeyKeg for wines, while offering timely advice and hands-on support.

WineKeg has subsequently consolidated its relationship with OneCircle and joined the official KeyKeg reseller network at the beginning of 2023, supplying KeyKeg to wine (and other beverage) producers across SA. “As local and global demand for KeyKeg grows, we are very pleased to consolidate and continue our relationship with OneCircle,” says Mark Caldwell, WineKeg marketing manager. “We aim to be easy, efficient, convenient and cost-effective for South Africa’s beverage industries.”

Through this partnership, WineKeg is always the first contact for customers, with OneCircle operating in the background to offer support where needed. It’s a win-win arrangement for both parties.

“The [WineKeg] team knows KeyKeg’s marketplace advantages, and their background allows them to understand how it adds value in the wine industry,” says Kilian van Woerkom, OneCircle account manager for South Africa. “WineKeg offers producers superior technical knowledge and support, quicker lead times and lower prices, as well as being local and convenient. Together we can improve the quality and sustainability of South Africa’s wine and beverage industry when trading with the world.”

Although OneCircle does not restrict customers to specific resellers, the company knows the advantage of maintaining open lines of communication. “For ease of communication, superior local support, local conditions and quicker lead times, WineKeg is a logical choice for South Africa’s KeyKeg users,” says Kilian. “We’re delighted to be working in the South African market with WineKeg as a regional partner offering expertise, value and high-quality service.”

Everybody wins

But it’s end-users who will reap most of the benefits. Through WineKeg, South Africa’s wine and other beverage producers now have access to a national KeyKeg reseller that holds sufficient stock for quick, efficient delivery across the country.

“WineKeg’s mission is to provide end-to-end KeyKeg solutions that link South African wine makers to consumers across the supply chain,” says Mark. “This allows producers to tap into a growing local and international demand for high-quality South African wines, served fresh by the glass, with less waste and less spillage of wine compared to bottles.”

Game lodges, resorts, hotels, restaurants, sports and social clubs, high-end tour operators, event locations and an increasing number of home consumers in the region are typical examples of clients who favour a dependable, versatile and sustainable wine-on-tap solution.

“In our experience, staff and management in the South African hospitality industry who have switched to KeyKeg are extremely happy with the efficiencies created by this innovative system,” says Mark.

To top it off, WineKeg also offers a full range of supplementary services, such as KeyKeg filling, logistics, warehousing, distribution and shipping – they already successfully export South African wine in KeyKeg to neighbouring African countries and as far as Asia.

KeyKegs filled with South African wines ready for export.

Locked-in freshness

With KeyKeg, wine reaches consumers all over the world as fresh as the day it was produced. “KeyKeg maintains still or sparkling wine quality and freshness for longer, letting consumers, both locally and across the world, enjoy the taste of wine as intended by the producers,” Mark explains.

Once tapped, a KeyKeg of sparkling or still wine keeps fresh for over two months. KeyKeg’s laminated, airtight, light-resistant inner bag keeps wine and dispense gas separate, reducing oxidation and CO₂ saturation. And any type of dispense gas can be used, even compressed air. Still wines, for example, can be dispensed with either CO₂, compressed air or another gas.

This means bars and other hospitality businesses can avoid opening individual wine bottles that keep fresh for only a few days and can serve a consistent ‘wine by the glass’ each time, without being left with uneven bottle ends.

“Handling, cooling and opening individual wine bottles takes time,” Mark explains. “Tapping a KeyKeg is quicker, more efficient, and effective. This streamlines frontline employees who can spend more time attending to customers, drinkers and diners.”

Some fresh facts:

1. One 20 L KeyKeg replaces almost 27 bottles of wine (a 30 L KeyKeg replaces 40), meaning 16 kg less glass waste and 1.6 kg less cardboard waste.
2. KeyKeg reduces bottled wine’s storage footprint by over 50%. Empty Kegs can be crushed to further save precious space, too.
3. KeyKeg is lightweight and ergonomic, featuring a an easy-to-handle grip ring and basecup that make it stable and stackable for palletisation. Filled KeyKegs requires no heavy lifting equipment, trollies, hand trucks or carts.
4. Custom sleeves allow producers to raise awareness about their brands in a crowded marketplace. It allows producers to elevate their identity and complement their branding strategies with maximum hospitality exposure for their wines.

Make the Circle bigger

KeyKeg is designed for circularity, meaning that, once empty, the actual raw materials used to produce new KeyKegs can be recovered, says Kilian.

“OneCircle’s ambitious sustainability goals include assembling an international network of Return Partners to offer either collections or drop-off points for empty KeyKegs. As more customers return empty KeyKegs to OneCircle, the amount of circular content in each new KeyKeg will steadily increase.

Therefore, OneCircle is actively seeking return partners in South Africa who can either act as a drop-off point or collect empty KeyKegs in their area.”