Sensible Investment?
Elsewhere, contract bottling specialists Branded Drinks says it continues to offer a “high quality but competitively priced service that has gained a wide reputation for reliability, flexibility and quality assurance” in the UK beer industry.
Jonathan Calver, managing director of the UK business says he is seeing more brewers investing in their own bottling lines but questions if this is the right thing to do.
“I’m not so sure it’s a good use of money. They will inevitably end up with spare capacity if they can’t fill it all with there own product, and then they turn to contact bottling. But it’s not that easy as there is a great deal to consider in terms of fulfilling contracts, and adhering to the requirements of the customer in question,” he adds.
Branded Drinks calls itself a ‘one-stop-shop’ gateway into on and off trade markets, handling everything from bottling and quality testing through to marketing, distribution and sales. It has invested more than £1.3m in new bottling technology since 2012, and handles nine different bottle types for its clients.
While Branded Drinks is experiencing ongoing success in the bottling sector, Beatson Clark is continuing its dialogue with the industry from a manufacturing perspective.
Taylor says: “Many breweries place restrictions on the dimensions of the bottles they can use as they have to contract out their bottling; we therefore try to provide alternative shapes that still fit many standard bottling lines, such as our tapered beer bottle: the dimensions are the same as our standard 500ml ale bottle which means that change parts should not be required to have the bottle filled, as with our new 500ml craft bottle.
“Breweries get alternative shapes to choose from rather than going for the same standards as everyone else. Many breweries do not realise that they can have their logo embossed onto a standard bottle on a production run of just 150k units, so communication is key.”
Bespoke Design
It is that communication that has led to Beatson Clark’s involvement in projects such as the production of bottles for Robinson’s Old Tom, the 750ml Embossed Brooklyn Sorachi Ace and Meantime Brewery’s 330ml Champagne style bottle used for beers such as Yakima Red.
She says: “One flexible option we offer is to emboss a standard bottle with a name or logo, or change the shape of the bottle while sharing blank moulds with one of our standard containers. This means a customised container can be produced from only 150k units and also reduces the outlay by more than half.
“Multiple embossing is a relatively new idea we’ve been working on: for one customer we recently produced four distinct versions of the same bottle from one production run, each with its own embossed design, which gives consumers the choice of four different designs on the shelf. It makes the bottle something of a collector’s item at no extra cost.
“We have also started to introduce embossed standard beer bottles available from stock, such as our 330ml craft beer bottle, which is a cost-effective way of creating a unique container without the expense of a bespoke design.”
The idea of added value is something that has continued to grow in popularity with Croxsons, also.
“Decoration is also a technique that allows for innovation, and differentiation. Brewers are opting for ceramic printing direct on to glass to add value to their brand and to keep ahead of the competition. With this offering a big point of difference over labelling, and the benefit of not needing a label application, it is one of our most common asked questions and order requests,” he explains.
So while canning beers, and the desire to do so, continues at pace, bottling still has a great deal to offer for breweries, established and new.
