An out of town attorney trying a case in an old courthouse for the first time made several observations about the grand old building while representing his client. After a break in the proceedings the judge invited the well-known lawyer and newcomer to see him in his chambers. He greeted the attorney and asked him how he liked the historic courthouse. The attorney told him it was a beautiful old specimen, but it needed work. The judge asked him what was wrong. The highly respected lawyer noted the warped wooden floors, a loose banister, unsightly restrooms, an old HVAC system that was struggling, the sound system was over 25 years old, and he noted the difficulty for those with disabilities entering the building and struggling to get to the upstairs courtrooms.
The judge told the newcomer he had no idea. The attorney responded that we all get comfortable until a new pair of eyes come to our home and observe things that nostalgic natives don’t ever notice because they’ve grown accustomed to them. The judge took out a legal pad and wrote down the observations and asked the lawyer to offer more while he was in town so he could send them to the town council. Packaging is the same! You can think your product label, or package is appealing, but at the end of the day it may just be that old courthouse and walks by it because they grew accustomed to it.
In a recent article for the Brewers Association Justin Kendall quotes its chief economic officer:
“In a world of intense competition, marketing and branding is more important than ever,” said Bart Watson, the Brewers Association’s chief economist. Speaking at the Beer Marketing and Tourism Conference last week in St. Petersburg, Florida, Watson also addressed changing consumer habits around beer tourism as part of the growing need to differentiate.
According to Watson, an average of two breweries open daily, and there are now 11,500 brewery permits filed with the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), which he said has historically been a strong indicator of the brewery count over the next two years.
“Anyone who thinks this explosion in the number of breweries is going to end sometime soon, I think they’re deluding themselves,” he said. “It’s going to end at some point, but most of the data suggests we’re not there yet and that there are a lot of breweries going to open. And some of these are second locations.”
There are approximately 8,000 breweries in America and that number keeps growing every day.
As more and more craft beer products hit the market consumers are flooded with choices. Of course you need to have a very special tasting product to create demand, but equally important is how you dress your beer. The days of having a lazy beer label, or packaging are over. The competition is too steep and with the advent of more wineries and craft distillers the market share is shrinking.
How do you plan to stand out among the competition? It’s critical that you have a great label and packaging design, but beyond that you’ve got to have one that performs. You can’t afford to have a great label that slides off the bottle in cold and wet environments. Nor can you tolerate a carton that bleeds colors inside a beer cooler just when you need it to shine for the consumer.
Now more than ever it’s important for craft brewers to have catchy, creative designed labels that attract consumers and perform whether it’s cans, 6-pack packaging, or bottles. Your label can set you apart from the competition or make you disappear into a sea competition. It’s incredibly important that you engage a label printer and packaging company that understands the industry and the importance of shelf appeal and market performance. It’s not a one size fits all market anymore.
At Century Printing and Packaging we have been answering the call for craft breweries and distilleries in terms of high performance labels and packaging. We are investing in the industry and learning all we can about your printing and packaging needs. Contact us today!
Ben Waldrop
President
Century Printing & Packaging
Greer, SC 29651
800.344.7509