Packaging Material

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As consumers continue to seek out variety within their beverage options, the probability of SKU proliferation seems to be a certainty for years to come. As brand owners hope to stand out from the crowd, inks and coatings are helping manufacturers draw in consumers.

Today’s consumers arguably are more engaged with a beverage’s packaging than ever before, increasingly reading ingredient lists and Nutrition Facts labels and researching products on their mobile phones before purchasing in the store, while at the same time engaging with brands on the Internet. This interaction, along with the proliferation of products on store shelves, continues to solidify the relationship between a beverage brand and its packaging. 

Completing its Nitro packaging lineup, Left Hand Brewing Co. is introducing Milk Stout Nitro in cans this year. The release will make the company’s most popular beer more accessible than ever, it says.

In Philip Pullman’s fantasy novel “The Amber Spyglass,” the third book in the “His Dark Materials” trilogy, physicist Mary Malone famously said, “People are too complicated to have simple labels.” In the consumer packaged goods (CPG) market, the same can be said as established and emerging brands look to stand out on crowded store shelves.

Innovation seems to be the key to success within the beverage industry. As with any other aspect of new product development, beverage-makers are looking for innovative caps and closures to seal and protect their products while also being appealing to consumers, both aesthetically and in their ease of use.

In its March report titled “Pouches,” Cleveland-based The Freedonia Group indicates that the U.S. pouch market will grow 4.4 percent a year through 2020 to $10.1 billion, primarily driven by the introduction of pouches in new markets and the integration of high-value features, such as re-sealable closures and spouts, in more mature markets.

With its slogan “Porsche. There is no Substitute,” the luxury car brand has found a way to communicate to consumers the premium qualities of its brand. For beverage-makers, highlighting the quality of their products extends beyond formulation to packaging.

PMMI, the Reston, Va.-based Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, and owner and producer of the Pack Expo Portfolio of Trade Shows, is gearing up for Pack Expo International 2016, which will take place Nov. 6-9 at McCormick Place in Chicago. The event will be co-located with Pharma Expo, a joint venture with the International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering (ISPE).