Why did big brands switch to aluminum for packaging?

Completely different manufacturers started utilizing aluminum cans for his or her merchandise for quite a lot of causes. Some firms switched to cans as a result of they had been extra sturdy and light-weight than glass, making them simpler to move. Others noticed the can as a possibility to face out from the competitors – at a time when most drinks had been nonetheless offered in glass bottles, switching to cans signalled {that a} model was fashionable and progressive. And for a lot of firms, aluminum can merely signify a less expensive packaging possibility.

Over time, the aluminum can has turn into an icon of American tradition. It’s been utilized in all the pieces from pop artwork to political campaigns, and it’s even been featured in Hollywood movies like “The Breakfast Membership” and “Napoleon Dynamite.” Campbell’s soup, Dr. Pepper, and Coca-Cola had been a few of the first manufacturers to make the change to aluminum cans, and right this moment, practically each main soda and beer firm makes use of them for his or her merchandise.

So why did these manufacturers make the change to aluminum cans? And what benefits do they provide over different sorts of packaging? Let’s take a more in-depth look.

Switching to cans was typically seen as a technique to modernize a model.

Cans are additionally extra sturdy than glass, which means they’re much less more likely to break throughout transport. And since they’re lighter than glass, they’re simpler to stack and ship.

Aluminum cans provide numerous different advantages as properly. They’re 100% recyclable and could be recycled time and again with out shedding any high quality. They’re additionally straightforward to retailer and transport, and so they maintain drinks colder than glass bottles.

Immediately, the aluminum can is extra common than ever, with gross sales of canned drinks totalling $19 billion in 2021. And as environmental considerations proceed to develop, the can is seen as a extra sustainable possibility than plastic or glass – making it possible that its reputation will solely proceed to rise.

The aluminum can was first launched in 1935 by the Gottfried Krueger Brewing Firm. But it surely wasn’t till the Nineteen Fifties that canned drinks actually began to take off.

Firms like Coca-Cola, Pepsi, and Budweiser had been a few of the first to start out utilizing aluminum cans for his or her merchandise. And whereas every firm had its personal causes for making the change, all of them noticed the potential on this new packaging possibility.

It was round this time that firms like Coca-Cola and Pepsi started utilizing aluminum cans for his or her sodas. At a time when most drinks had been nonetheless offered in glass bottles, the change to cans signalled that these manufacturers had been fashionable and progressive.

Coca-Cola was the primary main soda model to make the change to cans, and it did so for a really sensible motive – they had been merely extra handy to move. On the time, most delicate drinks had been delivered to shops in crates that held 24 glass bottles. However with cans, Coca-Cola may pack twice as many drinks into every crate, making it extra environment friendly for his or her distributors.

Pepsi quickly adopted swimsuit, and by the Sixties, canned sodas had been extra common than ever. Immediately, Coca-Cola and Pepsi are two of the world’s largest customers of aluminum cans, with every firm promoting billions of cans yearly.

Budweiser was one other early adopter of the aluminum can. The corporate began utilizing cans for its beer in 1936, only a 12 months after they had been launched.

Budweiser noticed the aluminum can as a possibility to distinguish itself from the competitors.

The corporate was additionally drawn to the can’s sensible advantages, like its lighter weight and elevated sturdiness. And like Coca-Cola, Budweiser noticed that cans had been extra environment friendly to move than bottles.

Immediately, Budweiser is among the world’s largest customers of aluminum cans, promoting greater than 2 billion cans yearly. And the corporate’s iconic red-and-white can have turn into an American icon.

Whereas Coca-Cola, Pepsi, and Budweiser had been a few of the first firms to start out utilizing aluminum cans, they weren’t the one ones. Within the years that adopted, many different firms made the change to cans for his or her merchandise.

Some firms, like Coors and Miller, switched to cans as a result of they had been extra handy to move. Others, like Heineken and Corona, noticed the can as a possibility to distinguish themselves from the competitors. And for a lot of firms, aluminum can merely signify a less expensive packaging possibility.

So subsequent time you crack open a chilly one, take a second to understand the common-or-garden aluminum can – and all of the historical past that’s been packed into it.