Abstract: A crate for beverage bottles and the like has separators for the bottles in the form of clusters of pillars extending upward from the lattice work bottom of the crate, each cluster being centered on the intersection of four bottle cells of the crate. The pillars of the same cluster are separated by one or two vertical slot-like gaps extending to the crate bottom to receive the partitions of a disposable bottle pack, so that the bottles can be loaded in the crate after they have already been placed in the disposable bottle packs in which they will go to consumer. The bottom of the bottle pack is provided with holes to allow the bottle separator pillars of the crate to extend up into the bottle pack. Instead of a single bottle pack fitting into the crate, two or more smaller bottle packs may fit adjacently into the crate, with their adjoining walls fitting into the same slot-like gaps of the pillar cluster.