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.

Consumer Preferences (multipacks)

European can makers in 2010 saw a healthy increase in empty can shipments in 2010 with a 5.2 percent increase which equates to approximately 54 billion total units. So what actually drove this growth?

Multipack cans now make up around half of all beverage can sales across Europe and are being included more and more in consumer’s weekly shopping baskets. They have been heavily promoted by retailers and offer people at home the convenience of on-the-go whilst saving money through buying multiple quantities. Multipacks also have the added advantage of size meaning that the larger surface area on multipacks has more opportunity to catch the eye of a passing shopper through branding and presence on shelf.

Britain and Spain are the two largest multipack markets, boasting well developed markets with a sophisticated trade infrastructure dominated by larger multiples. People also make larger, less frequent shopping trips in both of these countries. In Germany, according to a survey conducted by AC Nielsen in December 2010, 30 percent of shoppers buy their cans as part of planned shopping trips rather than on impulse.

And it isn’t just cost saving benefits for the customer and a useful marketing material for brands, multipacks are stackable, easy to transport, robust and a cost-efficient form of packaging.