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100% Mexican company that revolutionized the way of preparing Carajillo.
The ritual was simple: open, prepare, shake, and enjoy. But once the experience was over, something was left behind on the table: the shaker.
Auténtico Corajillo has built its growth around a proposition that combines flavor, convenience, and easy preparation. With the launch of Baileys Shakeado Corajillo, that experience incorporated a plastic shaker specifically designed to prepare the drink, a functional element that served its purpose perfectly but was ultimately discarded after use.
That was when a question emerged that would change the way the product was made: how could we reduce the amount of plastic used in the shaker without affecting its properties or changing the consumer experience?
The answer was not to eliminate the shaker or replace it with a completely different product, but to look toward one of Mexico’s most iconic resources: agave. Together with Auténtico Corajillo, AIM and Ecoware transformed the shaker used for Baileys Shakeado Corajillo into a Bio product, replacing a percentage of conventional polypropylene with agave fibers through PolyAgave®.
As a result, an item that had previously relied more heavily on petroleum-based polymers began incorporating biomass from an industry that generates more than one million tons of agave bagasse every year, turning an agro-industrial byproduct into part of a new consumer experience.
Auténtico Corajillo is a Mexican brand that has experienced significant growth thanks to a proposition built around appealing, easy-to-prepare drinks. Its continuous innovation led to the development of new experiences such as Baileys Shakeado Corajillo, where the shaker was not simply packaging, but an essential part of the preparation ritual.
The problem appeared once the drink was finished. After serving its purpose, the plastic shaker was discarded, creating an opportunity to analyze its composition and find a way to reduce the amount of conventional plastic used without compromising the properties required to prepare the drink properly.
The challenge was more complex than it seemed because changing a material cannot mean sacrificing product functionality. The shaker needed to maintain its structure, durability, and performance throughout preparation, which meant the solution had to strike a balance between functionality, experience, and a different material composition.
At the same time, there was an environmental objective: to reduce dependence on petroleum-based polymers and explore the possibility of using biomass that already existed as a byproduct of another industrial activity.
And that is where agave changed the story.
Through Ecoware, we transformed the shaker used for Baileys Shakeado Corajillo into a Bio Shaker, replacing a percentage of polypropylene with agave fibers through PolyAgave®.
The solution was not intended to eliminate the polymer completely, but rather to use only the amount required and partially replace conventional material with plant-based fibers, while maintaining the properties needed for the shaker to continue performing as designed.
This decision preserved the preparation experience that defined the product while changing something consumers might not immediately see, but that was fundamental: its composition.
Instead of developing an entirely new object from scratch, we took a product that already worked and rethought it from the material level.
Mexico has a unique relationship with agave. We see it in the fields, in bottles, and in some of the beverages that have carried the country’s identity around the world, but behind that industry lies another story: the materials left behind after the plant is processed.
The industry generates more than one million tons of agave bagasse every year, an agro-industrial byproduct made up of the fibrous material that remains after processing.
And within that lies an opportunity.
What is a byproduct for one industry can become a raw material for another.
PolyAgave® is built around precisely this idea, incorporating fibers derived from agave into products that would traditionally require a higher proportion of conventional polymers. Instead of considering this biomass simply as something left behind at the end of a process, new applications are explored that can give it a useful purpose in other products.
In the case of Baileys Shakeado Corajillo, this technology found a particularly interesting application because it connected two seemingly different worlds: a ready-to-prepare drink and a byproduct from the agave industry.
Consumers still had the shaker they needed to prepare the drink in their hands, but now part of its composition came from a different source.
The project also represents a different way of thinking about product design. For a long time, industrial logic has followed a relatively linear path: extract raw materials, manufacture, consume, and discard. Materials such as agave bagasse, however, open the possibility of exploring models in which the byproducts of one industry can find applications in another.
In this case, agave fiber was incorporated into a polymer matrix to partially reduce the amount of conventional polypropylene required to manufacture each shaker.
This made it possible to address two challenges at the same time: reducing dependence on petroleum-based polymers and making use of biomass derived from agave processing.
The innovation, therefore, was not simply about creating a different shaker, but about reconsidering where some of the materials needed to manufacture it could come from.
A reduction in the amount of conventional polypropylene used in the Baileys Shakeado Corajillo shakers, replacing part of the polymer with agave fibers without compromising the properties required for the product to function properly.
This reduced the consumption of petroleum-based polymers per unit while simultaneously incorporating agave biomass as part of the raw material, giving a new application to an agro-industrial byproduct generated in large quantities.
The solution also seeks to help reduce waste by using part of this biomass in new products. From a broader environmental perspective, reducing dependence on fossil-based polymers and incorporating residual biomass can contribute to reducing impacts associated with conventional raw materials, including greenhouse gas emissions, although any specific reduction in the shaker’s carbon footprint or CO₂ emissions would need to be quantified through a product life cycle assessment.
This distinction is important because it makes the result more robust: there is no need to exaggerate the environmental benefit to demonstrate that a real change took place. Less conventional polypropylene was used, agave fiber was incorporated, and a new application was found for biomass generated by another industry.
In addition, the initiative allowed Auténtico Corajillo to incorporate a more responsible material choice into one of its products, strengthening its positioning among consumers who are increasingly paying attention to the materials and waste associated with the products they consume.
Many material-related decisions happen behind factory doors and remain completely invisible to consumers. In this project, something different happened because the innovation was literally in their hands.
Each Bio Shaker turned an engineering and material decision into part of the Baileys Shakeado Corajillo experience. Consumers could prepare the drink in the same way, but the object they used to do so had evolved.
That makes the shaker more than just a container. It becomes tangible proof that a brand can begin rethinking its products without necessarily transforming the experience consumers already know.
The story can be explained very simply: before, the shaker relied more heavily on conventional polypropylene; now, part of that material has been replaced with fibers derived from agave.
We usually think of agave in terms of what it can become: tequila, mezcal, and other beverages deeply connected to Mexico. The Auténtico Corajillo and Ecoware case invites us to also look at what remains after agave is processed.
If an industry generates more than one million tons of bagasse every year, the question is no longer simply how to manage that material, but what else can we do with it?
A shaker is one answer.
But it does not have to be the only one.
Cups, packaging, promotional products, and other items can become opportunities to explore new applications for plant-based fibers, particularly when there is a possibility of partially reducing the amount of conventional polymers they require.
In that sense, the Bio Shaker tells two stories at the same time: the story of a convenient way to prepare Baileys Shakeado Corajillo and the story of an agave fiber that found a new purpose inside a completely different product.
This case offers an important lesson for other brands: innovation does not always mean starting from scratch. Sometimes the opportunity lies in looking at what we already use and asking better questions.
How much plastic does this product use? Is that amount necessary? Can we replace part of it? Is there a byproduct from another industry that could become a raw material? Can we do it without compromising the consumer experience?
For Auténtico Corajillo, these questions led to rethinking the shaker, resulting in a solution that maintained its purpose while partially reducing its dependence on conventional polypropylene and giving agave fibers a new application.
That is precisely the kind of innovation we seek to develop at AIM through Ecoware: evolving products without losing what makes them work.
A cup, a shaker, packaging, or a promotional product. Often, the opportunity to innovate already exists within a brand’s portfolio; we simply need to take another look at the product and ask how else it could be made.
At AIM, through Ecoware, we develop solutions that incorporate plant-based fibers and alternative materials into products designed for promotions, brand experiences, and consumption.
The Baileys Shakeado Corajillo Bio Shaker began with a very specific challenge: to reduce the amount of plastic used without affecting the shaker’s properties and find a way to make better use of available materials.
The answer was found in an industry that generates more than one million tons of agave bagasse every year.
The answer was agave.
Now the question is: what product from your brand could we transform next?
Learn more about our promotional products.
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