Simon Smith, managing director of CS Labels, which uses Xeikon print technology, echoes this.

“The market is very diverse. competitive and dynamic and if you look at the recent microbrewery explosion you can see how it has changed over the past few years – extensively,” he explains. “Breweries really want their labels to stand out more than ever. Cost isn’t as much of an issue anymore. In our experience I have seen the market change, if you would have asked me five years ago what breweries wanted, I would have said they normally ask for a wet glue label as cheaply as possible.

“Now they are asking for all kinds of extras; embellishments, consecutive numbering, special label stock, seasonal editions, personalisation and even wanting augmented reality on their labels so people can scan a label image and be sent to a webpage or other interactive content.”

Interactive Experience

According to Smith, the label is part of an interactive experience, with consumers sharing their beer stories on social media channels, including taking pictures of the brand.

“It’s becoming a lifestyle choice to be a fan of real ales, pairings of food and beer is becoming more and more prevalent, and all of this is lead by a strong brand that is complimented by an appropriately strong label,” he enthuses. He highlights the work the company did for Brixton Brewery last year. “We helped them to select a fashionable textured effect base paper that had a nice warm grain behind it.  We’re often asked for label stocks like laid paper or Tintoretto.”

And for Smith, he expects breweries to continue to spend more on their branding going forward. “The successful ones tend to invest in their marketing which goes right through to the packaging. Packaging, including the label, isn’t something they want to skimp on as they know consumers make a lot of buying decisions based on quality packaging in this market,” he explains.

“Plus most brewers are proud of their work; they genuinely love their craft and why spoil a fantastic beer with a cheap label? Also if you look at many of the recent award winning labels, they were either gins or beer. The gin market has quite rapidly followed suit where packaging quality is concerned.”

Marvin Foreman, worldwide sales manager at Tonejet can take up the debate from a different angle. Tonejet is readying its 2-Piece Can & Tube Digital Decorator for market, a system designed to meet the needs of short to medium print runs for a range of applications, and beer cans are a key application in this space.