 Brighter at point of sale - The trend towards metallic designs:
With the trend towards metallic designs, the bright steel technology has helped to enhance the steel can’s visual appearance and optimise shelf appeal. The intrinsic bright appearance of steel has always been considered by designers and canmakers as a premium for creating original and appealing labels for cans. This metallic appearance in packaging creates an image of quality and distinction for the product packed and identity for the brand. By optimising the can manufacturing process, the merits of steel can be even further exploited in design, and offer enhanced value for the brand. A common development process:
Steel for packaging producers recognised the need to give steel beverage cans a fresh ‘look’ that appeals. With this in mind, the three leading European steel for packaging producers and the three major European beverage can manufacturers joined forces to work on a project that puts steel packaging at the forefront for the quality of can finishes.
An added value image for the brand:
The choice of a transparent metallic design for Coca-Cola's 'Diet Coke’ on steel is proof enough that using the latest production methods, the metallic brightness of the steel can is an added value for consumer appeal.
Véronique Curulla, Crown Cork Marketing Executive for Bevcan Europe and Middle East, stressed that with the trend towards clear metallic designs, this technology has helped enhance the steel can’s visual appearance and optimise shelf appeal. “We are currently using this Bright Steel technology in our Seville and Custines plants”, she said, “and bright steel is used in Spain by Coca-Cola for approximately 20% of their volume. Furthermore, we have recently successfully produced a bright steel design for the Brasseries Fisher brand ‘Doreleï”, one of the leading brewers in France.
Packaging designers’ appreciation:
Metallic gold and silver designs in packaging represent a high value image and are used frequently today in packaging concepts for ‘haute couture’, perfumes, cosmetics, luxury gift packs and top of the range, single malt whiskeys.
Two top designers, Séverine Gomez and Sophie Toporkoff, chose the creativity of a metallic design on a steel can to produce two exceptional and original graphics for Coca-Cola's 'Diet Coke' with ‘Modern Pop and Romantic’ can displays, directed at a 25-35 year-old target group.
Consumer appreciation:
IPSOS carried out extensive consumer research in order to evaluate the key decision making factors related to steel beverage packaging solutions.
In this research the consumers highly rated Diet Coke packed in a bright steel can, giving it a brand differentiation score of 8.14 out of 10, compared to an average of 7.2 in the beverage category.
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