Closures: Visual and functional designs as a purchasing incentive

While the range of extravagant container designs has grown considerably, the potential offered by bottle closures is yet to be fully exploited. This almost gives the impression that drinks industry marketing has thus far failed to give the closure the attention it deserves. There is scope here for a variety of attractive designs combined with practical functions.

Marketing and closures: There has not been much activity here to date. But in terms of marketing instruments, there is surely potential for more than just games or promotional collection campaigns involving the lids?

Variety of closures

One example of this is wine. Natural cork remains the best-known closure among consumers, even though it can hardly be considered a modern solution now that innovations such as plastic corks and glass stoppers exist. As for the screw cap, its leak tightness and resealability make it best choice. There is no risk of the wine tasting corked and it does not cause any damage at all. And yet it still has a bad reputation when it comes to product value. For many consumers, a screw-cap bottle is still synonymous with poor quality wine. But in the case of mineral water, the screw cap is now almost universal. Beer bottles have seen a great many changes in recent decades as well. The good old crown cork is still in pole position. While the swing top is a viable alternative, it remains a niche product.

Focus on consumer needs

The majority of innovations related to bottle closures are geared towards the requirements of the drinks industry: Material, weight reduction, or ecological or economic requirements. While this is to be expected, more attention could be paid to customers’ needs. In addition to their traditional demands such as easy closing, leak tightness, and protecting the contents and keeping them safe, customers have increasingly high expectations. Closures that are difficult to open or even confusing are a frequent source of complaint among the rapidly growing group of senior citizens. This is an important point given the current demographic development. Younger consumers are often out and about and so the drinks industry could also offer them solutions that are tailor-made for them. For example, the sports cap closure is ideal for consumers with a mobile lifestyle and people who do sports in particular as it can be opened quickly and easily. The wide-neck closure could merit further attention for fruit juices and milkshakes as it makes them much easier to drink. Transparent, translucent, or colorful design solutions can direct the respective user groups towards the right product for them at the point of sale.

Impressive marketing ideas

The smoothie manufacturer true fruits has come up with a nice idea with its upcycling caps. Permanent closures, sprinkle tops, pouring tops or even pump tops can give empty glass bottles a “new” life. Another exciting development is that of functional closure designs, where extra ingredients are only released into the beverage when the bottle is opened. The range of environmentally friendly bio-based closures is equally interesting and increasing environmental awareness among consumers means that this will become more and more important for manufacturers. The World Beverage Innovation Awards will also be presented at drinktec 2017, on September 14 at 16:00. The categories include an award for the “Best closure”. Marketing experts from the drinks industry will also get together in the Innovation Flow Lounge—a sparkling source of inspiration.

Innovation Flow Lounge is supported by:

• Döhler
• FoodBev Media
• KHS
• Sahm GmbH