King takes great pride in Side Project’s bold label and package design. He recognizes the importance of design in the overall experience for the drinker. “We know it’s what’s inside the bottle that counts,” King says. “But we also appreciate how a bottle is presented. Its label and packaging keep the customer remembering what they tasted.”

In the craft beer segment, glass bottle packaging remains a strong packaging format. With information from an EcoFocus Worldwide survey, the Arlington, Va.-based Glass Packaging Institute created an infographic highlighting the benefits that glass packaging can offer to craft brewers.

There’s an old adage that says not to judge a book by its cover. Yet, when it comes to beverage brands looking to stand out on store shelves, beverage-makers want consumers to do just that.

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.

Which beverage package will consumers buy, under what conditions, when will they buy, how many will they buy and why will a purchase occur? These types of challenging questions confront most sales and marketing managers as they attempt to maximize sales and profit under many variable conditions.

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.