Everyone enjoys treating themselves to a premium product
Although inflation appears to be waning, prices at the checkout are still making most shoppers grimace. As a result, many consumers continue to seek bargains. However, they don’t want to feel deprived, so they also look for ways to indulge themselves and decide to purchase quality over quantity.
That’s one reason premiumization is an enduring trend, particularly for craft beverages. A premium image is supported by either or both the package and the label. Craft brewers and producers of craft spirits rely on numerous strategies to evoke a premium image, according to the Craft Beer and Spirits: Success Through Packaging report, published by PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies. Options include:
- Label aesthetics (high-gloss, vibrant colors, metallization, holographics, peel-back labels)
- Can shape (tall, squat, shaped)
- Smart, interactive technology [radio frequency identification (RFID), near-field communication (NFC), Quick Response (QR) Code, augmented reality (AR)]
- Novel shapes (flexible packaging where rigid is common or vice versa)
- Premium bundling (e.g., gift boxes with accessories like glassware)
- Dual-chamber bottles (especially for ready-to-drink cocktails)
- Personalization.
Labels deliver a premium presence via visual, tactile, and/or smart features, which communicate a feeling of luxury and exclusivity. Visual tools include high-gloss finishes; metallic flourishes with ink and foil; glitter, spot, and holographic effects; laser cutting; die-cutting; and clean lines with sharp colors, which deliver shelf impact. Many of these visual features now can be delivered economically via shrink sleeves or digital printing/embellishment and open the door to inventorying bright stock rather than large quantities of pre-printed cans and labels. Digital foil embellishment continues to evolve, efficiently reproducing smaller lines and finer text, supporting variable printing, and improving economics.
Tactile features create a unique, pleasing, or unexpected sensory experience for consumers. The appeal can be so strong that the consumer can’t resist picking up the product and touching it, making it much more likely to go into the shopping cart. Tactile options include a texture to enhance a graphic element, touches of leather or other unique materials, etching, and embossing.
Smart features deliver functionality to facilitate a premium experience, build brand identity, and differentiate the product from its competition. According to the report, interactive features such as RFID, NFC, QR Codes, and augmented reality (AR), link the consumer directly to relevant, engaging content designed to enhance a luxury experience. AR-enabled packaging can deliver immersive experiences, such as virtual product demonstrations or interactive games. This interactivity builds brand loyalty.
QR codes can be scanned by the latest smartphones without downloading a third-party app. A scan of the code sends the user to a website, typically a custom landing page, which displays specific product information like the origin of the recipe or ingredients or special promotional offers. The scan also can provide an easy way to offer feedback about the product. For the processor, wholesaler, or retailer, a QR code can help enhance transparency and consumer engagement, support geolocation and tracking, discourage counterfeiting, and provide analytics to monitor and project sales.
Looking beyond the label, the package itself can project a premium image. This may be accomplished by choosing a novel format, e.g., a paper bottle or a flexible package for a product that is typically sold in a rigid container. Other tactics include differentiation via functional features like easy-open/reclose or innovative dispensing capabilities, launching specialty releases celebrating a season or commemorating an anniversary or other occasion, and presenting limited-edition products, collector’s packs, or gift packs, which may include complementary items such as related products, accessories like glassware, and/or certificates of authenticity.
These specialty releases often rely on upscale secondary packaging such as premium cartons with clear windows, handles, or elaborate embellishments utilizing technologies like metallizing or embossing. In some cases, secondary packaging may transition to non-standard options like wooden boxes, fabric pouches, or metal tubes/tins. Personalization also may play a role. This can include names, greetings, or codes etched in a glass bottle, embossed effects on glass, plastic, or metal containers, and variable printing on labels, pouches, cans, or cartons.
However, despite the audience appeal, an upscale packaging format can be challenging to execute efficiently especially if volumes are lower and special handling is required. In that situation, it may make sense to hire a third-party packager to handle tasks that are incompatible with in-house equipment. Premium embellishments also can carry a premium price tag, which may preclude their use. However, newer technologies can add embellishments more economically. For example, presses equipped with cold foil modules can minimize the cost of adding a metallized effect.
Another hurdle to premiumization is sustainability. An upscale image can’t come at the expense of sustainability. When indulging in a premium beverage purchase, consumers still look for eco-friendly attributes like recyclability, recycled content, renewable sources, lower reliance on plastic, reusability/refillability, compostability, and progress toward environmental, social, and governance goals such as a reduced carbon footprint. Whatever the choice, the packaging should provide clear instructions for disposal when it is empty. Third-party certification of environmental claims also should be considered to reassure consumers and prevent accusations of greenwashing.
Fortunately, premium embellishments do not necessarily harm sustainability. To enhance recyclability, it’s possible to specify shrink sleeve labels that are recyclable with the container or are easily separated in the recycling process. Metallized film and paperboard are compatible with recycled content. Many metallized substrates also are completely recyclable with non-metallized counterparts and have third-party certification to verify the claim.
Beverage makers will find the latest innovations in premium labeling and packaging at PACK EXPO International (Nov. 3–6, 2024; McCormick Place, Chicago). Making its PACK EXPO International debut, Sustainability Central (located in West Hall, Booth W-21020) will take an expansive look into packaging sustainability and what it means to brands, including expert speakers, and a look at actionable, sustainable solutions in manufacturing, materials, recovery, logistics, analytics, and design. Attendees will hear from industry experts on a range of packaging sustainability topics and learn how to make their brands more sustainable.
Another new show feature, Emerging Brands Central (Booth W-20049), offers the information needed to project an upscale image via an educational stage offering 30-minute presentations on product development, packaging innovation, and scaling strategies.
Other educational sessions will be offered on the Innovation Stage (Booth N-4560, N-4580, and N-4585), the Processing Innovation Stage (Booth LU-7147), the Industry Speaks (Booth N-4565), and the Reusable Packaging Learning Center (Lakeside Upper Level in the Reusable Packaging Pavilion). With more than 150 educational sessions on the show floor, PACK EXPO International is a hub for education and thought leadership where industry experts share timely knowledge on the latest topics and trends in packaging and processing.
The most expansive and all-encompassing packaging and processing industry event in 2024, PACK EXPO International, will feature 2,500 exhibitors offering solutions to many of today’s biggest manufacturing needs from an intersection of industries to 40-plus vertical markets. More than 45,000 attendees from consumer packaged goods and life sciences companies worldwide will converge, searching for innovation, connection, and insight. For more details and to register, go to packexpointernational.com.
