Recently there has been a large effort for manufacturers to help create sustainable methods for packaging and shipping their consumable products. This research is predominantly focused on aluminium cans and their containers.
Why aluminium cans?
“Aluminum makes the only beverage container that is infinitely recyclable. Easy to stack and lightweight, aluminum cans are also super efficient to ship and store. Cans chill quickly, provide a superior metal canvas for 360-degree labeling and – perhaps most importantly – protect flavor and freshness.” (The Aluminium Association , 2022)
Aluminium cans have proven to be a highly reliable material for the storage and consumption of liquids. They are stackable for warehousing due to their slightly curved neck, efficient for a lack of space consumption and offer rigidity when compressed to ensure the product isn’t damaged or tainted due to their lack of edges (Bright Side, 2022). It is also simple to manufacture and brand a can as the shape is easily unwrapped in modelling software.
I CAN’T GET ONTO MAYA RIGHT NOW TO GET THE IMAGE OF THIS TO EXPLAIN MY POINT.
Environmental concerns
In recent years there has been a push to find alternatives to single-use packaging and find more sustainable resources. In the past manufacturers have relied upon plastic rings to contain their beverages and efforts were made in 1994 by the Environmental Protection Agency to combat their harmful effects on the environment and marine life by making them photodegradable. However, this method takes three to four months if the circumstances are less than ideal and still pose a danger due to microplastic consumption (Gibbens, 2018).
Keelclip
The beverage industry has made great strides recently with several innovations in this space. Anheuser Busch is a market leader in the beer industry with universally recognised brands such as Budweiser, Hoegarden and Stella Artois in their business portfolio (ABInBev, 2020). Recently they have modernised their packaging materials straying from the antiquated plastic ring design to an alternative “Keelclip” that uses totally recyclable paperboard alongside Coca Cola HBC in European markets (Coca Cola HBC , 2022).
Snap Pack
Carlsberg Group adapted to environmental concerns by removing the “sixer” plastic ring system and replacing it with small blobs of glue in their “Snap pack” design. This method reduces the amount of plastic by 76% and creates a creative way for their branding to be seen as their cans are printed in such as way that in a 2×3 configuration the printing of the Carlsberg logo is evenly distributed creating a whole image with the necessary information at a front side view (Carlsberg, 2022).
How is this research useful?
In the later stages of my product development and branding, these design solutions will be considered to help make my brand more eco-conscious and avoid the excessive number of materials used by the current industry leaders. It will be a key focus in the development stage to ensure only two materials are used for packaging the products to enable the end user to recycle more efficiently.
Bibliography
ABInBev, 2020. We didn’t put a ring on it. Here’s what’s replaced our plastic rings in the UK!. [Online]
Available at: https://www.ab-inbev.com/news-media/sustainability/here-is-what-has-replaced-our-plastic-rings-in-the-uk/
[Accessed 21 11 2022].
BRIGHT SIDE, 2022. Why soda cans are shaped the way they are. [Online]
Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQC8yvMVsvc
[Accessed 21 11 2022].
Carlsberg, 2022. Our revolutionary new Snap Pack. [Online]
Available at: https://www.carlsberggroup.com/pursuit-of-better/better-tomorrow/snap-pack/
[Accessed 21 11 2022].
Coca Cola HBC , 2022. The Coca-Cola system introduces innovative Keelclip packaging technology on multipack cans in europe. [Online]
Available at: https://ie.coca-colahellenic.com/en/Our_Stories/the-coca_cola-system-introduces-innovative-keelclip–packaging-t
[Accessed 21 11 2022].
Coca-Cola HBC Ireland and Northern Ireland, 2019. Coca Cola introduces Keelclip. [Online]
Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-OqsYcToYQ&t=4s
[Accessed 21 11 2022].
Gibbens, S., 2018. Are Plastic Six-Pack Rings Still Ensnaring Wildlife?. [Online]
Available at: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/news-plastic-six-pack-rings-alternatives-history
[Accessed 21 11 2022].
The Aluminium Association , 2022. Aluminium Cans. [Online]
Available at: https://www.aluminum.org/product-markets/aluminum-cans
[Accessed 21 11 2022].
