Thirty-eight percent of consumers prefer aluminum cans when tailgating versus 26 percent who prefer plastic bottles. Thirty-six percent of consumers prefer cans at barbecues or picnics, compared with 30 percent who prefer plastic bottles. This data from the Washington, D.C.-based Can Manufacturers Institute (CMI) white paper titled “Open up to Cans” highlights one of the reasons why many beverage-makers are looking to cans as a packaging option. Several beverage-makers that have added cans to their portfolio note that they provide expanded drinking occasions.
However, CMI’s white paper, containing data from a study conducted by Chicago-based FoodMinds, notes that cans also have potential to build consumer loyalty. “Research also showed that cans facilitate daily consumption,” the white paper states. “In categories where cans dominate, and even in categories where cans are not the most frequently consumed container, cans tend to be consumed more often by frequent daily users.”