Material Review: Metal Cans

Shapelier, Handsomer, Friendlier Cans Are Winning a New Can-Do Reputation In the Eyes of Producers and Consumers

by Carro Ford

The lowly can might be the last place you’d expect “out of the box” creativity. Metal packaging has gone basically unchanged for so long because it has always offered so many advantages—cost effectiveness, long shelf life, excellent protection from light and oxygen, fast manufacturing and filling, easy shipping and handling.

It’s been difficult for the can industry to change. So much cost has been driven out of production over the years that it’s not been economical to make many changes: not economical, but now necessary to stay competitive.

The Can Manufacturers Institute (CMI, www.cancentral.com) is an industry resource for information about purchase patterns and demographics of perceptions related to packaging. The Institute has noted that trends in metal packaging are driven largely by trends in lifestyle. Today’s shoppers, according to CMI, are packaging sophisticates who like cans that are safe, sturdy, environmentally responsible, trustworthy, stackable and shelf-stable.

Loyal consumers stick by their cans, but marketers have a tougher time repositioning packaging for younger, busier buyers. The old style of packaging does not generate value perception among new consumers who care about convenience, not familiarity.

“One of the biggest challenges to metal packaging growth is the plastic pouch, because consumers like the convenience, even though it’s more expensive and does not have the shelf life of a can,” notes Jim Fisher, vice president of packaging industry affairs for Ball Corp. Ball is North America’s largest maker of metal beverage cans, producing some 35 billion a year.

Most canned foods are cooking ingredients, and with more people dining out or on the run, consumers are less likely to buy canned ingredients to prepare meals at home. The industry is fighting back with added convenience features such as reclosable packages, tabbed can ends, and the dot top.

“Easy O” does it

Unlike the basic can shape, the can end is easier to modify, and manufacturers have pursued these opportunities with positive results. The “easy O” or quick top is the tabbed metal end that’s making can openers obsolete. “The tab top has taken years of investment, and not until recently has steel been modified for easy lifting. Now it’s one of the biggest trends in the canned food industry,” declares Jeff DeLiberty, marketing manager for Silgan Containers. Silgan accounts for approximately $1.8 billion in metal food cans and ends.

The “easy O” makes the can more modern and easier to use, and perhaps most importantly, it helps drive incremental share because consumers like it. Sales of Alpo dog food took a positive direction when that product converted, and nine months later Ken L Ration also went to tabbed ends. All Campbell cans are converting to easy open ends, says DeLiberty, and 8-oz Del Monte packages and Chef Boy R Dee products are following suit. The technology continues to evolve for greater consumer convenience, such as increasing the tab size for easier pulling.

Unlike nearly every other form of manufacturing in the U.S., the can business has not moved offshore. Most cans are attached to food processing, so it remains a domestic industry. Processes are so automated and fast that there is little advantage in sending the work offshore. Still, some of the innovation in metal packaging design is coming from overseas.

Dot’s really clever

One of the hottest new convenience trends in metal packaging is the dot top. Already mainstream in Brazil, the technology is just making its way into the U.S. Users simply peel back a dot in the center of the lid to release the vacuum. Once the lid is off, there are no sharp edges, and the package is resealable. Converting a full product line to the dot top can take about a year, but according to DeLiberty, it’s already available on packaging for dipping and pizza sauces.

Common in Europe, foil ends are also starting to hit the American market. “Most U.S. processors can’t do this type of end with their current equipment,” notes DeLiberty. “You might see it commercially today in coffee products.”

Foil ends are a little easier to open than conventional ends, and they typically have more safety ledge inside the lid area. Some consumers don’t care for that because it prevents all of the contents from being poured.

Other trends in metal packaging tend toward technology that might be found in the Jetsons’ pantry, such as Hormel’s self-heating food cans. “Push a button, and your spaghetti or chili will be 100 degrees, and the package is completely recyclable,” DeLiberty explains.

Other manufacturers are exploring coatings and inks that change color with the can’s temperature. “Some companies are looking at steel microwaving, too,” says Jim Fisher of Ball. “It can be done, but you have to do it the right way.”

All hail the master cylinder

The main obstacle to alternative shapes in metal packaging is food processing. Cans go through rotary cooking devices, and the cylindrical shape has remained the best for this treatment. Changing the can would require changing the process of cooking the ingredients, and most companies aren’t keen on that. Margins on canned goods like soup or dog food are already razor-thin. No one wants to add a few cents per package to pay for retooling a production line.

Designers must look to Europe to see something besides the traditional cylinder, such as the old-fashioned crock-shaped soup cans coming out of Germany. However, shaping makes the soup more expensive, and marketers might wonder if the clever shape adds enough incremental revenue. “We can bend cans that way, but it would raise the price two cents per unit,” explains DeLiberty. “When it can be made cheaper in the old shape, it’s hard to justify the meager return on a product with already tight margins.”

Aluminum beverage cans typically offer more affordable opportunities for change and innovation. A more familiar example of shape changing might be the Heineken beer “keg” can.

Since changing the can’s shape can be cost-prohibitive, many of today’s metal packaging trends focus on graphics to help products stand out in a competitive marketplace. Manufacturers are becoming more creative with labeling, and because they can print six colors or more, images are richer and more fun. Adding more inking stations on a label press is expensive, but as the market continues to move in that direction, manufacturers recognize the importance of visual impact to branding and sales.

“Increasingly, beverage marketing is going to aluminum packaging because of cost, quality and eye-catching graphics that help products pop off retail shelves,” says Greg Brooke, director of communications for Rexam Beverage Containers America. “Companies are also looking down the road at what can be done with digital printing on aluminum cans. For instance, a consumer promotion tied in with a Superbowl winner may be printed on beverage packaging within hours after the game.”

Reputation stuck in a can?

Over the years, can producers have done a good job of driving down costs—maybe too good. Now these results are coming back to haunt efforts to expand markets for metal packaging.

“The good news/bad news is that we have made the metal can the most cost-effective packaging, but we have also created an image of being low cost or cheap,” says Fisher of Ball. “Higher image products went to glass. We are fighting the problem, and now it’s moving again in the other direction, and we’re helping customers sell more product and open new markets for can packaging.”

Companies are looking at different product areas that might be appropriate for metal packaging, “We have gotten better at handling new types of products like dairy and low acid foods and beverages,” Fisher adds. “Companies are also exploring different kinds of products perceived as more healthy and are expanding into ‘nutriceuticals’ for can packaging.”

Some companies are even putting wine in metal, such as the new trim can for Sofia wine from the Coppola vineyard (see “Wow! What A Package,” p. 80). Microbrewers are exploring the option of cans for their smaller batches of beer. Aside from the image problem of canned beer, they have been limited to glass because smaller batches made filling a problem. Now equipment makes it feasible for microbrewers to go for the can.

“The quality of the canned package is still excellent, and we are always looking at how we can handle new products, such as dairy, that were not in cans before,” says Fisher. Ball maintains a large lab in Colorado with the mission to test new products in metal containers. Some poor soul at the lab must taste canned beer every day in the quest for continued quality.

Getting wise to size

“Manufacturing has not changed as much as the understanding of what consumers want,” says Fisher. Food and beverage manufacturers have gotten better at listening to consumer research.

One thing they are learning is that consumers like choice, and this includes the size of the can. “This wasn’t even on their on radar three to five years ago,” notes Fisher. “We have been saying for years that consumers want smaller packages. Now manufacturers realize that offering a variety of sizes doesn’t cannibalize sales of larger sizes. Enhancing can design adds manufacturing expense for shaping and adding more sizes, but customers know this helps sell more product.”

“The fastest growing package is the 8-oz. can,” notes Greg Brooke of packaging leader Rexam. “The 24-oz. size is another growth area, especially for energy drinks and potentially water. We also see a trend to vitamin and water drinks packaged in cans for better cost, recycling, and display. Companies are looking at resealability as something that will further drive more water packaged in cans. And different shapes are being considered from the aspect of aesthetics.”

When it comes to developing new ideas for metal packaging, “the field of dreams does not work,” says Fisher. “It’s very expensive to do R&D and build a model, and then customers might not like it. We have become more proactive, working with concepts up front instead of going right into working models. We are working more with our customers on consumer research before spending lots of money. We have a big R&D facility, but we don’t spend time or money on elegant can designs that customers won’t want.”

The limits of the practical

Customers—food and beverage manufacturers—have large investments in their filling operations, so can producers have to stay within certain boundaries. “There’s only so much you can do with a two-piece aluminum can and still have a cost-effective package that performs,” says Fisher. “Package designs may come from customers as a concept, and we will work with them in terms of: ‘Can it be made, or can this shape be done?’”

Ideas often come from the customer side. Companies like Coke, Pepsi, and beer brewers have their own packaging specialists who are in tune with what can be done. Ball invites customers to a three-day “can school” where they can learn more about how cans are made and what they can do.

“Marketers are rediscovering the brand and bottom line potential of cans, and we need to team with our customer to get the right value proposition,” says Rexam’s Brooke.

Silgan Containers helps customers like Campbell’s, Del Monte, General Mills, Nestlé, and Hormel leverage metal packaging to enhance their total brand proposition. Says DeLiberty, “We work with our customers and share technology and innovation to enhance the value of metal packaging for their brands.”

Carro Ford operates Carro Ford Communications in Lexington, Ky. Contact her at carrof@gte.net