Wow! What a Package!

In the Oscars of Packaging, Metal Makes the Critics Say, “WOW! And the Winner Is…”

by David Luttenberger

If there were an Academy Award presented for packaging, this year’s unanimous recipient would be U.S. canmakers—the lot of them, in fact. What’s so ironic about this segment of old-economy packaging suppliers is that their performance during the past year has been much less a drama and every bit the action adventure, the genre in which the underdog, no less, prevails.

A year ago the Can Manufacturers Institute publicly announced the can segment was, quite frankly, done being glass’ and plastic’s whipping boy: a less-than-subtle reference to a decade of decline in the use of cans in the U.S. market and loss of share to glass and plastic conversions.

During the past several years, no matter if it was iterated at the Can Summit, overheard at MetPack, or mumbled at a format-neutral event; canmakers were near droid-like in their rote responses: “We’re as economical as glass; we’re as versatile as plastic; blah, blah, blah, yaddah, yaddah, yaddah.” It was always, “Metal is as good as …” instead of, “Metal has the distinct advantage of….”

It would appear from the canmakers’ most recent responses that they have not only rewritten the script, but are aggressively seeking leading roles in fast-paced niche segments of the U.S. market.

And the nominees are:

Easy-open ends

Introduced into the European bev can market as pop-tops and ring-pulls in the 1950s, EOEs matured in the early 90s as full-panel tops for pet foods and went mainstream soon after for human foods. U.S. consumers are now pulling ergo-friendly and readily recyclable EOEs off such products as on-the-go soups, fruit cups, ready-to-eat meals, tunas, and a host of other food products. It is estimated that one-third of all human and pet food cans in the U.S. are currently using EOEs, with application growth rapidly accelerating as fillers and co-packers adopt them as an industry standard.

A cool drink of water

PET-bottled water is baffling enough to me, so of course let’s introduce water in a two-piece, 8-oz. aluminum can.

With bottled water gushing at an 18 percent CAGR, single-serve varieties are expected to equal half the total carbonated soft drink (CSD) market by 2007. Canmakers’ cash cow end-use, CSDs, on the other hand grew a scant 3 percent in 2003, largely at the hand of water and isotonics. Enter Rexam Beverage Can America, which has been making the stubby 8-ouncers for 10 years. Rexam claims that at high production volumes vs. plastic bottles, the can offers lower distribution and warehousing costs, faster filling speeds, better recycling, and near limitless shelf life.

Now that’s the way to push the attributes of a package format. Insofar as design, it lacks the “WOW!” factor, but it’s a rising star by any other name.

Lights, camera, action: red, white, or Chardonnay?

Wine from a can? Why not, say Parrotheads bound for an evening of Jimmy Buffet on the green.

In the U.K. and parts of Asia, canned wines have been offered for years. In the U.S., it is yet another in what is a growing list of niche applications where cans try to eke out a half a percentage point of share, albeit likely a seasonal spike at best.

Offered by the vineyards of none other than movie mogul Francis Ford Coppola, the canned California wines—appropriately named Sofia after Coppola’s director-daughter—are designed in the likeness of Ball Corp.’s 8.4-oz. “trim” cans so popular amongst energy drinks. The cans are neatly packaged in a handsome, hexagonal-shaped, 4-pack paperboard carton.
Chalk another one up for those crafty, creative canmakers.

Best supporting actor: bottle and bullet cans

You’ve likely seen Daiwa’s Bottle Can used for Capri Sun’s Island Refreshers. You will soon see the Bottle Can and Exal’s Bullet Can on C-store shelves sporting Coke’s and Pepsi’s flagship colors. Both the Bottle and the Bullet Can are outstanding package designs that stand out among a sea of competitive look-alikes in steel trims, plastic half-liters, and glass.

Best actor in a non-traditional role

OK, so it’s not a U.S. application, but Europe’s Corus Packaging’s nifty, novelty “steel stand-up pouch,” while not commercial, would be a slam-dunk at high-end confectionery, coffee, and beauty care boutiques. It’s unique; it’s value-added; and it offers that all- important consumer perception of “WOW! What A Package!” at the point of sale.

David Luttenberger, a certified packaging professional (CPP), is the director of Packaging Strategies, an intelligence briefing service for packaging markets, technologies, and businesses. He can be reached at (610) 436-4220 (ext.18) or at dluttenberger@packstrat.com