Ball Packaging Europe unveils Heineken’s signature on-can effect to revitalize consumer experience around canned beer with grooved edges running around its entire body.
The ‘Groovy Embossed Can’ 33-cl can offers consumers an enhanced tactile experience with a stable grip.
This unique new can from Ball will be produced out of its Wrexham site and launched into the UK in April 2015.
Heineken’s main target group is open minded young adults: modern life-style, very mobile and always up-to-date and curious.
They like the can for its functional and portable qualities and because it is cool and progressive.
Although the ‘keg can’ had won much favor within this consumer base, Heineken recognized that the time was right to inject fresh energy into their packaging.
The brand in turn approached its long-term partners at Ball Packaging Europe to develop this new solution.
Can-do attitudeÂ
During the development phase, the question was raised – how do we take an iconic brand and its signature packaging to a level that effectively prompts the retail consumer to act?
“One of the challenges the team faced in development was creating a new look within the parameters of the embossing and debossing technology without compromising Heineken’s distinctive and powerful design elements – aspects which are obviously key to on-shelf product recognition,” said John Reed, manager product commercial at Ball Packaging Europe.
“We wanted to include a significant amount of debossed features in the design in order to give the can a unique look without compromising the structure integrity of the package.”
The solution was to create a horizontally grooved can.
To realize the full visual potential of the design, several color options were tested before choosing to leave the bulk of the can’s surface unprinted, relying on the natural reflective qualities of the metal to create a compelling visual effect.
“In the race to grab consumer attention, our trials showed that the best approach was not to overwhelm the can with color,” said Reed.
“Perhaps counter intuitively, embossing and debossing over color can sometimes detract from visual impact.”
However, that did not mean compromising the iconic Heineken green color scheme with the distinctive red star.
The effects achieved by the technology ensure that the ‘Groovy Embossed Can’ generates powerful on-shelf impact while continuing to evoke the spirit of the Heineken brand.
