More beverages making their can debut

Market demands for the types of drinks available is changing and so companies are increasingly diversifying the types of beverages that they choose to package in cans. Wine, champagne, cocktails, beauty drinks and even tea and coffee are now frequently appearing on our shelves in a canned form, offering consumers increased choice and convenience.

The increasing popularity of cans for both company and consumer is driven by a number of factors. Cans offer a controlled serving size for one person, making it easier to manage consumption and taking up less space in the fridge. Cans of wine are particularly appealing to young adults as they are more affordable, shatterproof and lightweight unlike traditional wine bottles, making them ideal for outside occasions such as picnics and music festivals. Retailers can also reap the benefits of cans replacing wine bottles as they are cost-effective and efficient space- wise on shelf.

Cocktails in cans offer similar advantages. Companies like The Authentic Cocktail Company produce a variety of premixes and other ready-to-serve drinks, including classic cocktail favourites such as the Cosmopolitan and Piña Colada. Canned cocktails provide the consumer with the convenience of having the drink already mixed.

It is not only alcoholic beverages which have been making the move to cans. Ready-to-drink hot or chilled coffee has long been popular in vending machines in Japan but is increasingly present in American and European markets with the US, Austria and Germany in particular favouring the convenience of cans over mugs and cups.

As more companies realise the benefits of selling their food and beverage products in cans, we look forward to finding more of our favourite tastes in the modern, refreshing and of course 100% recyclable packaging that is beverage cans.

From a drinks can to a marketing tool

At first glance we see the drinks can for what it is best – a sustainable, durable and infinitely recyclable packaging source for beverages – but upon closer inspection it’s clear that the can is so much more than this.

Soft drinks producers and brewers recognise the many benefits of the can as a packaging option. Our recent figures show two billion extra cans were produced in Europe in 2012 for soft drinks and beer, and the current economic environment has seen a shift towards consumers opting for an evening in with a packaged beer from the supermarket over a night out in a bar.

Savvy firms are recognising the cans’ popularity and convenience so are using this to their advantage. With 59 billion cans produced for soft drinks and beer in Europe last year, brands are capitalising on this growth to use the beverage can as a simple and direct communications tool to get their message in front of their target audience.

To complement the familiar 360° can design and shape, brands are stepping up their use of campaign specific graphics and messaging. Diet Coke’s recent Marc Jacobs on-pack promotion successfully engaged its market with the chance to win a designer bag, whilst Carling tapped into the at-home drinking trend by offering purchasers of their four and eight can packs the chance to win one of two million ‘Brilliantly British’ prizes.

With competition high in the beverage can market, brands are fighting to stay ahead by offering consumers on-pack added extras like competitions and downloadable games, and new technology emerging from the beverage can manufacturers is helping this happen.

Whilst beverage cans are popular packaging choices for their resilience and ease of filling, it may be that as technology advances and brands become more adventurous consumers will find themselves recycling an all singing, all dancing but still infinitely recyclable beverage can.

European can production shows resilience in 2012

Figures compiled by Canadean for BCME have revealed the resilience of the can as production levels for beverage cans across Europe rise despite difficult marketing conditions.

The new figures show that there were more than 59 billion cans for soft drinks and beer produced in Europe during 2012, reflecting how soft drinks producers and brewers recognise the convenience and endless recyclability of the can.

A 3.7% increase on the previous years’ production rate equates to the manufacture of an impressive two billion extra cans, and comes despite the fact there has been an almost 1% drop in beer consumption across Europe.

The upward shift in can production was driven by strong performances in Eastern Europe, where can fillings grew 5.7%, and the Nordic region which grew by 4.6%. The 3.2% growth seen in Western Europe was well above GDP growth in the region, and this success was followed by 3.4% growth in the production of cans for soft drinks across Europe as a whole.

Overall fillings for cans for beer increased by 4% despite the fall in consumption, pointing to a noticeable long-term shift emerging in the beer market away from refillable glass bottles to cans. The economic challenges have resulted in people choosing to stay away from bars and instead purchase packaged beers from supermarkets to enjoy a night at home instead, and brewers are responding to this change.

The resilience of the beverage can, the ease of filling and its excellent recycling credentials all combine to ensure the can remains a popular choice of packaging for beer, soft drinks and energy cans.

Q & A: The UK drinks market in the run up to Christmas 2012

The Nielsen Company monitors consumer purchase behaviour closely and has been since 1923. With much festivity over the Christmas period and a tough economic climate, we asked Kate Spencer-Ratcliffe, Client Leader at the Nielsen Company, what her observations were for beverage cans in the UK leading up to Christmas.

How did the overall UK beer and cider category perform in the summer months?

In the 16 weeks to end of Sept 2012, the total beer and cider market was slightly up in value terms (+0.1%),but declined in volume (-2.2%).

How are cans performing in the UK soft drinks category?

Soft Drink cans have grown by +2.5% from January to October this year.

Where did UK consumers make the most purchases and what percentage was this?

Over the summer months, the majority of beer and cider cans were sold in the Grocery Multiples.

Soft Drink cans are sold more within the Impulse sector of the market, which accounts for 75% of all Soft Drink sales.

Are UK shopping habits changing overall?

Shoppers are remaining cautious and looking for ways to manage their spending. Since 2007 there has been a big increase in the use of promotions to achieve this. Shoppers are also shopping around more. They will switch to cheaper brands in order to stay within budget.

What effect did the Olympics have on UK sales?

The week of the Olympics Opening Ceremony (week ending 28th July 2012) registered the third highest week of volume sales for both beer, cider and RTDs this year, the biggest being the two weeks leading up to the Diamond Jubilee.

What trends and factors should we look out for that will effect UK consumer decisions in the run up to Christmas?

Consumer confidence will likely remain weak, which is reflected in the unit growth trends which remain below 1%. Food inflation is expected to increase in the final quarter, which will benefit top line value growths but put another squeeze on the shopper and further pressure on unit trends.

Spend on offer is low for this time of year. Whilst price is expected to remain the key focus for the remainder of the year, spend on offer is also expected to increase in the lead up to Christmas trading.

The evolution of the drinks can: changing the consumer’s can

Since the drinks can’s introduction in the 1930s, society has continually changed and evolved but through it all, the drinks can has remained a popular drinks pack. This is the first of two blogs that explore how drinks cans have changed with society.

 

It was the 1930s that the drinks can came about. The world was much smaller thanks to intercontinental flights and the start of air mail. Good ideas and inventions could then spread across the globe at a faster pace. Canned beer was first developed in 1930 in the US. Easier communication of ideas meant that technology evolved in the UK and it was introduced in 1935.  The first cans were constructed from three pieces of metal with a cone-shaped top, looked like bottles and had a screw cap.

The period between the thirties and sixties was one of war, upheaval, rebuild, austerity and rigidity. In the sixties, views began to relax as did licensing laws. Alcohol became more widely available in supermarkets, for which cans were perfectly suited. Light and durable, cans also required minimal shelf space.

More changes in social attitudes and desires in the seventies saw supermarkets increase product variety and choice, so less shelf space was available. This was ideal for cans which, thanks to the new two-piece construction, could be stacked and easily displayed. Multipacks were also increasingly popular and the introduction of ring-pulls did away with keys, adding another level of convenience and saw a marked increase in canned drink sales.

The eighties – an extremely difficult economic period at the start finished with boom and economic growth. Manufacturing improvements and efficiency were vital and the can underwent lightweighting and continual innovation.  By 1981, two-piece cans led the UK market. In the second half of the decade, times had changed as had consumers’ lifestyles and the can remained popular – still drinks in cans were introduced, the retained ring-pull was developed and a lighter can with a more cost-effective way of production was in place.

Our next blog will explore the nineties, the “naughties” and present day.

The European Can Market Report 2011 has arrived

2011 was another positive one for the beverage can market, which enjoyed yet another year of growth in Europe. Drinks cans continue to be a popular choice for fillers and consumers alike. The annual BCME European Can Market Report details European trends, market performance, consumer behaviour, recycling activity and much more.

For fillers, the can offers a 360 degree billboard for brand promotion in addition to recyclability and on-the-go convenience. For consumers, the can offers a drinks pack which keeps its contents fresh whilst remaining cool and trendy. The drinks can continues to go from strength to strength, not only with its innovative shapes, the variety of sizes and finishes available, but also with expanding offerings available including ready mixed drinks and wine.

In Europe, BCME has been working with Metal Packaging Europe to highlight metal as a permanent material that is infinitely recyclable and reusable – a fact now recognised by the European Parliament, which has endorsed the European Commission’s Resource Efficiency Roadmap, specifically calling for ‘permanent materials’ such as metal to be made a new resource category. Within the report you will also find details of BCME’s commitment to sustainability through our continued support of recycling campaigns. We have been working hard to communicate best practice on every aspect of can handling.

With a whole host of sporting events across Europe, we hope that the beverage can continues to perform well in 2012. For more information about BCME and to read the report in full, visit http://www.bcme.org/home

How V Festival is making Every Can Count

Music festivals see lots of cans consumed, brought in by campers and sold onsite, making them the perfect fit for Every Can Counts, the programme that’s getting people recycling at work and on the go. As Festival organisers are keen to reduce their environmental footprint and raise the profile of the event’s green credentials, Every Can Counts provides a platform for this.

This video shows Every Can Counts at work at V Festival in Telford. The programme joined forces with contractors Ryans Event Cleaning and Panda Waste to collect, sort and process the cans onsite. Ryans and Panda set up can recycling points across the site. Every Can Counts were responsible for communicating the recycling message, providing highly visible and interactive promotions during the event to encourage festival-goers to do the right thing with their empty cans. Cans recovered in the waste stream were sorted onsite, with equipment provided by Novelis Recycling.

Around 130,000 cans, which equates to over two tonnes of aluminium and steel, were collected at V. A great achievement considering every can is infinitely recyclable without loss of quality and each can recycled substantially reduces the environmental footprint of the next one made.

Click here to watch the video: www.youtube.com/everycancounts

A look back at the Soft Drinks International Conference

The Soft Drinks International Conference, held at the Tower Hotel, London, saw delegates from all over the world come together to discuss the soft drinks industry. Topics ranged from packaging and innovation, to consumer behaviour and sustainability. Representatives included Geoff Courtney, Chairman of the UK Can Makers, and Every Can Counts and MetalMatters Director, Rick Hindley as well as UK and international representatives from Coca Cola Enterprises, Euromonitor, Canadean and UNESDA (Union of European Soft Drinks Associations) to name but a few.

Representing the UK Can Makers, Geoff Courtney’s presentation was a dynamic look at the beverage can covering three main themes: Evolution, Innovation and Sustainability. Used for soft drinks since the 1950s, the can has undergone continual evolution, keeping up with changing needs and holding its own as a consumer pack of choice for soft drinks. Of particular note are continual lightweighting, the expansive range of appearances, shapes, sizes and formats available and the fresh tasting, cold beverage that the humble can provides. Geoff also discussed sustainability initiatives supported by the Can Makers such as Every Can Counts and MetalMatters programmes.

Overall, the conference was very informative, well attended and a great success and we would like to thank the organisers from Soft Drinks International magazine for a most enjoyable and enlightening conference.

Why consumers prefer drinks cans

Why are drinks cans so popular with consumers in the UK? BCME and the UK Can Makers commissioned a recent study with GfK examining attitudes and perception to drinks packaging, which was a follow up study to one conducted in 2007. The survey highlighted the growing popularity of the can and the reasons why it is a preferred pack format amongst consumers.

The research revealed that 60% of respondents consume at least one canned drink per week –a considerable increase on 48% in 2007. The top three things consumers wanted from drinks packaging were taste, freshness and value for money. When it comes to perception, consumers agree that drinks from cans taste good. The research also shows cans are perceived as delivering “good value for money” and “freshness”, as well as a “recyclable pack” that is “easy to drink from”.

All demographics are drinking from cans more often, particularly men and those aged between 14 and 17 years old. More people than ever before are also drinking cans on the move and are conscious of convenience when making a purchase. There has been a marked increase of those drinking cans of energy drinks and single serve CSDs – also reflected in a previous blog about the UK and European can market results from 2011.

It’s clear from the research that beverage cans remain a pack of choice for consumers. They provide consumers with a convenient container which is cost effective and recyclable – key drivers when consumers come to make their purchasing decision

 *Research was conducted by GfK, a leading global market research and consumer insight agency, and is a follow up study to one conducted in 2007. The sample was demographically representative of 14-54 year olds who drank carbonated soft drinks (CSDs), energy, sports drinks and beer (aged 18 and over)

Can Film Festival Gets Students Recycling Can Film Festival Gets Students Recycling

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2012 is off to a strong start for Every Can Counts. The out-of-home recycling programme kicked off its student outreach to UK universities during Go Green Week (6^th-11^th February) with the Can Film Festival. Aimed at boosting campus recycling, the initiative offers students, lecturers and staff free film screenings in exchange for their empty drinks cans.

 Now in its third successful year, the Can Film Festival, open throughout the academic year, aims to raise awareness of the recyclability of drinks cans and encourage more students and young people to do the right thing with their empties.  Participating campuses have access to Every Can Counts recycling containers, posters and promotional materials to help encourage both staff and students to swap their empty cans for entry.

While Every Can Counts reaches out to business and consumers alike, the Can Film Festival encourages long term behavioural change by making recycling rewarding, easy and fun at universities. Forty universities requested packs ahead of this year’s start during Go Green Week to run their own Can Film Festivals, including King’s College, London, University of Birmingham and Newcastle University, with more to come in the academic year.

For more information visit www.everycancounts.co.uk/about. You can also follow Every Can Counts on Facebook and Twitter.