Not Just for Coca-Cola: Beverage Cans Are In Vogue

Beverage manufacturers are pushing ahead with bottling in cans. Coca-Cola is investing in a new plant. Consumers are not put off by the higher prices, but environmentalists are outraged. What are the advantages and disadvantages of beverange cans?

Production of coca-cola cans. — CCEP DE already fills carbonated soft drinks in cans in Dorsten and Karlsruhe. The investment in Halle will give Coca-Cola its fourth canning line in the production network.

National footballer Florian Wirtz is featured on 330 ml cans of Pepsi Zero Mango flavour. A special edition that could boost sales of the new flavour. Beverage cans are very popular for marketing because their entire surface can bei printed. This is not the only reason why cans are currently experiencing a renaissance as beverage packaging.

Personen stoßen mit Getränkedosen an, die mit ihren Vornamen versehen sind. — The "Share a Coke" campaign returns in a new edition: for a short time, the cans and bottles are adorned with the words "Drink a Coca Cola with" and first names instead of the iconic logo.

In May, Coca Cola is bringing back the successful 2011 "Share a Coke" campaign in a new edition. For a short time, instead of the iconic logo, the cans and bottles are adorned with the words "Drink a Coca Cola with" and first names such as "Anja", "Mesut" or "Leyla", nicknames and terms such as "Your mate". It is also possible to design personalised products online.

Cans are seen as a growth driver for non-alcoholic drinks. According to market researcher NielsenIQ (NIQ), they recently achieved an increase in sales of around eleven per cent. Retail sales of the 0.33-litre containers commonly used for soft drinks increased by 15.7 per cent to 1.01 billion euros, while PET bottles with the same filling quantity only grew by 3.8 per cent and have a market volume of just 315 million euros.

The energy drink group Red Bull also reported a 4.4 per cent increase in can sales to 12.7 billion cans. The can category share is over 10.6 per cent. Within five years, the sales volume has thus grown by 47 per cent. The Society for Packaging Market Research reports that 5.8 billion beverage cans will have been sold in Germany in 2023 – whether at petrol stations, supermarkets or drugstores.

Market leader Coca-Cola is permanently offering 16 different carbonated soft drinks in 330 ml cans. According to the company, this is the most varied range it has ever offered. The Paulaner brewery group has added orange and lemon soda to its canned Spezi range. The Krombacher Group is introducing new can variants for its Fassbrause, while the Hassia mineral water company is introducing new can variants for its Bizzl brand. Iced teas – from Pfanner, Lipton and Rauch, for example – are also increasingly available in cans and are attractive for the to-go sector.

Coca-Cola Invests in Filling Line for Cans

Coca-Cola European Partners (CCEP) has announced that it will invest 150 million euros in German filling technology and infrastructure in Germany. Almost a third of this will flow into the production site in Halle, where a new and fourth filling line for beverage cans is to be built for ten million euros. It is scheduled to take up production in 2026. In the future, in addition to the Fuze Tea brand of iced tea drinks and the Powerade brand of sports drinks, the classic Coke, Fanta and Sprite will also be bottled in Handel’s birthplace – in 0.25 and 0.33 liter cans. Coca-Cola is responding to the increased demand with this multi-million investment: "Cans are in vogue," explains Uwe Blabusch, Operations Manager at the plant in Halle. "Last year alone, sales of canned beverages in the German market increased by around twelve per cent compared to the previous year."

Five Advantages of the Can

From the manufacturer's point of view, cans have many advantages:

They are said to have the best barrier properties. Light and oxygen cannot get in and carbon dioxide cannot escape.
The large opening enables fast filling.
The can is a value-adding container. Convenience shoppers are prepared to dig deeper into their pockets for to-go consumption than when buying in advance, where prices are compared more closely. A one-third liter can of Coke for 99 cents comes to a price per liter of around 3 euros. The can is also often more expensive than other portion packs such as PET bottles, which cost €2.18 per liter.
The transport cartons are easy to stack. In terms of logistics and distribution cans benefit from the fact that 97 per cent of the total weight consists of the beverage and only 3 per cent of the packaging.
The round containers are considered virtually unbreakable but tend to dent under high pressure.

At Coca-Cola, 0.33-liter cans account for almost seven percent of sales volume. Five years ago it was only 3.3 per cent. In order to continue to grow with the trend container can, consumer preferences must be taken into account. The can is very much in demand among the young target group. According to market researchers, people between the ages of 30 and 39 often reach for cans.

Environmental Sinner or Recycling Champion?

Is the can still a polluter two decades after the introduction of the deposit? Almost all beverage cans in Germany find their way back into the circular economy - be it as a new beverage can or as a component of bicycles or electric cars – so the cycle is not closed. Felix Brandenburg, Chairman of the Beverage Can Forum, says: "With a recycling rate of over 99 percent, the aluminium beverage can is the most frequently recycled beverage packaging in Germany. According to the latest figures, a recycling record of 76 per cent was also achieved in the EU in 2021. I am confident that with the mandatory introduction of deposit systems, we will also be able to significantly increase the rate in Europe as a whole." The Beverage Can Forum is an association of the packaging manufacturers Ardagh Group, Ball Beverage Packaging Europe and Crown Holdings.

Deutsche Umwelthilfe explains that every gram of new aluminium is harmful to the environment. The processing of the raw material bauxite produces a waste product contaminated with heavy metals. Melting aluminium over several hours also requires a lot of energy. Barbara Metz, Federal Managing Director of DUH, says: "With the can plant in Halle, Coca-Cola has manifested an environmentally and climate-damaging one-way business model for decades - and is threatening the reusable system in Germany, which is characterised by small and medium-sized businesses." In view of the climate crisis, particularly environmentally friendly packaging such as regional reusable bottles is needed. "The reusable quota of 70 per cent stipulated in the Packaging Act has already been undercut for years." According to DUH, the new German government must introduce a levy of at least 20 cents on disposable plastic bottles and cans to promote reusable packaging.

by Anna Ntemiris, editor