The beer industry has experienced growth since the 2000s. This growth leads to a highly competitive market for companies selling beer, liquor, and wine.
This is especially noticeable when you visit a liquor store and see shelves filled with a wide variety of craft beer and wine from different regions across the country.
The trend of the craft beer industry shows no signs of slowing down. The number of breweries in the United States reaching an all-time high of over 7,500. Since the end of 2017, more than 1,000 new craft breweries have opened their doors for custom beverage packaging.
For many craft breweries, the key to standing out lies in their beer branding and the design of their brewery logos. They strive to create unique and memorable identities that set them apart from the competition.
Various brands are actively exploring alternative materials and unconventional shapes in order to attract consumer attention beyond the scope of their logos. Many companies are using custom winery boxes and adopting peculiar bottle designs.
These forward-thinking brands lead the way in innovative alcohol branding, demonstrating that new craft brands can enter a saturated market and achieve success by embracing creative approaches.
Packaging Shapes a Beer Brand's Identity
The packaging of a beer brand serves as the origin of its visual identity. Incorporating a design that is feature-rich and loaded with elements brings creativity that extends beyond the packaging.
It seamlessly transcends into various settings, including retail spaces, on-premise bars or clubs, branded events or experiential spaces, as well as advertising, point-of-sale displays, and other branding materials.
Companies can create memorable brand experiences by utilizing custom beer packaging. Here are some ways to achieve this:
Choose Between Bottles or Cans
Considering the influence of the craft beer label, the choice between beer bottles and cans is necessary when selling craft beer in stores.
The label serves a vital role in product promotion, and each container option possesses its own set of advantages and limitations.
Beer bottles are a traditional choice but offer a limited surface area for the label. As a result, you have to make the most of the available space on the label.
On the other hand, beer cans provide the opportunity to cover the entire surface area with your design, allowing for more creative possibilities.
Establish a Striking Opening Sound for Beer Cans/Bottles
Flensburger Pilsener has gained considerable recognition for its intricate and premium flip-top opening mechanism, which offers both a distinctive and resealable experience for consumers.
This feature, though not universally essential, imparts a sense of intrigue and serves as a testament to the brand's rich heritage, elevating the enjoyment of every beer.
Tuborg, a brand under Carlsberg, meets genuine contemporary consumer demand with its ring-pull cap. The company offers a convenient and hassle-free opening experience that eliminates the need for a bottle opener. This feature enables drinkers to enjoy their beverages more swiftly and effortlessly.
While twist-off caps are prevalent in the United States, they are less commonly encountered in other markets, possibly due to concerns regarding the preservation of freshness associated with easily opened bottle caps.
Font lettering
Font type, styling, layering, depth, visibility, and character connection within a brand logo are all commonly employed design techniques related to the font.
Many logos boast their own exclusively designed fonts or lettering styles. Asahi serves as an excellent illustration.
It showcases a specially crafted font type that effectively reflects the brand's Asian heritage.
Font design still remains one of the most challenging and time-consuming facors of the design process.
Choose a Theme
Craft breweries have a range of options to consider when designing their product labels. Some prefer a minimalist or retro theme, while others gravitate towards nature, animals, or hobbies like camping or sports.
Select a theme that effectively represents both the brewery and the product itself, ensuring customers can easily comprehend what they are purchasing. The ideal product label holds significant potential in capturing attention and highlighting the company's beer selection.
Expand Your Perspective Beyond the Bottle
Beer sales involve more than individual bottles; the design also includes the overall packaging. This includes six-pack and twelve-pack containers, bottle caps, and even beer tap handles.
Once the label design is finalized, designing the packaging becomes easier. It is like extending the label design onto a different surface.
The goal is to create a consistent visual identity by matching the imagery, typography, color scheme, and overall brand personality between the label and packaging. This helps present a unified representation of the brand across the entire product.
Multiple Packaging Elements Employed in Craft Beer Packaging
Craft beer packaging encompasses more than just aluminum cans, although they do hold significant importance. Consider various packaging components when designing craft beer packaging:
Glass bottles
Glass exudes a sense of premium quality. They are an excellent choice for higher-end craft beers. It is commonly favored by established and larger craft breweries that have a history of utilizing glass bottles even before the rise of aluminum cans as a prevailing trend.
Labels
Careful consideration should be given to the selection of aluminum cans or glass bottles for craft beer packaging, with particular attention to the role of labels.
While the container plays a role in preserving the beverage, the label holds significant value for customers. Prioritize the design and content of the label to effectively engage and inform consumers about the product.
Ensure that your label includes all the essential information that customers seek. Maximize captivating designs, vibrant colors, and printing quality to differentiate yourself from competitors.
Bottle caps
Rather than settling for plain and conventional caps, view this as a chance to leave a lasting impression and offer customers a distinctive keepsake. Custom bottle caps provide an excellent opportunity to stand out and add value to the consumer experience. Some customers even enjoy collecting bottle caps. Thus, making your customized caps an addition to their collection.
Aluminum cans
Aluminum cans dominate the craft beer packaging landscape. Their popularity stems from their lightweight nature, cost-effectiveness in shipping, convenient portability, and recyclability. They provide excellent protection for the beer, shielding it from harmful sunlight and oxygen exposure that could otherwise compromise its quality.
Shipping boxes
To finish your craft beer packaging, you'll need bigger shipping boxes for larger quantities of your product. This is a chance to strengthen your branding with custom-designed boxes. Print your unique designs on sturdy corrugated boxes from trusted suppliers. These boxes will safeguard your beer during transit and act as a powerful branding tool.
ForestPackage For Your Beer Brand Launch
If you would like to discuss and explore how we can assist you with a brand launch, relaunch, or extension, please feel free to contact ForestPackage today. We have a genuine passion for beer design and sustainable packaging. We would be delighted to connect with you.
