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Tim Conybeare, chairman of The Can Makers, takes a look at the evolving landscape of sustainable packaging in the canned drinks market, highlighting innovative advancements in the beverage industry and how these developments are driving environmental responsibility and meeting consumer demands for eco-friendly solutions.

Currently valued at more than £13.6 billion, soft drinks have dominated the UK canned beverage market for decades. As has been the case in every category, there have been many winners and losers along the way and while the perennial favourites continue to dominate in terms of volume, the rise of more sophisticated, and in some cases boutique brands, is a trend that seems set to continue.

The days of choosing between lemonade or some form of cola are long gone and the variety of soft drinks available in cans today is testament to the innovate spirit of the drinks industry.

But in many ways, it is the can itself which has enabled this transformation, and helped many brands, including a significant number of new entrants to the market, to establish a premium position and differentiate in a highly competitive environment.

In fact, the can has proved so successful that it is now synonymous with high-quality drinks in all segments from wine and cocktails, to what has become the almost ubiquitous presence of craft beers in cans, in retail outlets across the UK.

It is perhaps worth reflecting on the success that craft beers have enjoyed over the last decade, particularly when considering the trends that have developed more recently in the soft drinks category. For many new entrants to the market, the can offered numerous competitive advantages, particularly for those dealing in smaller volumes.

Can is king

At the same time however, the can offered a unique 360-degree canvass and scope for creativity in design which helped brands to target demographics that might otherwise have remained out of reach. Coupled with a high-quality product, the popularity of craft beers rose rapidly, catering for a discerning consumer that now associated cans with more than merely convenience.

Recent Nielsen research confirms the segment’s continued upward trajectory, noting a 327% increase in canned craft beer sales, while ​25% of all craft beers in the UK are now found in cans.

Today, as more environmentally conscious consumers drive new trends in all industries, a simultaneous increase in the number of people whose purchasing behaviour mirrors a growing desire for healthy lifestyle choices, soft drinks might seem the obvious alternative to alcoholic beverages in cans.

Currently 1 in 5 UK adults don't drink alcohol, and the number is rising. But far from being an inferior alternative, ‘low and no’ options, alongside soft drinks, have become the ‘go to’ choice for upwards of 20% of UK adults.

If the craft beer industry can be credited with paving the way, proving that cans could offer comparable quality to any other format, then the soft drinks industry has taken the next step, adopting cans as the packaging format of choice in order to communicate a sense of prestige, sophistication and increasingly, environmental awareness, as well as all of the qualities which are now a given when it comes to cans including, convenience, portability and portion control.

The fact is that developments in can design coupled with the capability to print increasingly complex designs, making full use of the substrate’s inherent properties, has raised the bar for brands in all segments of the drinks industry.

At the same time, research conducted recently by the Can Makers confirmed that consumers want to be able to purchase a high-quality product in environmentally friendly packaging without compromising on any of the qualities that have always differentiated the can such as its ability to chill drinks quickly and keep drinks cold for longer.

Keeping it circular

For many years, beverage cans have remained the most recycled form of drinks packaging in the world and in May this year, Can Maker’s member Alupro (Aluminium Packaging Recycling Organisation), confirmed that the UK aluminium beverage can recycling rate had reached 81%.

With robust national recycling systems in place, beverage cans can be recycled over and over again and today it’s the ideal choice for brands seeking to drive improvements in their environmental performance as industry and consumers recognise the urgent need to achieve a more circular economy.

Combining unrivalled environmental credentials with striking design capabilities in a format which offers consumers a sophisticated experience and premium beverage, while remaining convenient for all occasions as well as being easy to recycle would once have been considered a distant utopia.

The rise of premium adult soft drinks in cans clearly demonstrates it is a reality which new entrants to the market as well as established brands, cannot ignore.

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