Beer has always had a distinct visual charm all of its own. Perhaps that’s why it’s persisted throughout human history, with evidence that it has been brewed for at least 13,000 years across virtually every human civilisation that we know of. On the first Friday of August every year, the world raises a glass to this storied history and celebrates International Beer Day. This year, on 5th August, the beverage market is focused on this historic drink – and beer brands have an unmissable opportunity to capitalise on this heightened attention.
More than a fancy cocktail or a glass of champagne, no drink is quite as photogenic as an ice-cold, frosty glass of beer, its amber glint picked out by beads of condensation dripping gently down the glass. It’s no surprise, then, that the visual appeal of beer labels plays such an influential role in consumer purchasing decisions.
Beer is a product that appeals to the senses of taste and smell, but to sell itself to consumers, it requires a strong visual element, too. Crafting an effective beer label that speaks to your consumer isn’t as simple as it sounds, particularly for small craft beer brands that must punch above their weight to compete against powerhouse global brewing corporations.
Part of the appeal of a good beer is the craftsmanship. The unique blending of art and science that gives each brew the distinct flavour profile that you want should be reflected in your label. Whether your beer is a light golden ale, a heavy stout, or anything in between, the key to making your beer stand out is to make sure its label fits the character of the drink somehow. If you don’t make an effort to catch the customer’s eye and give them an intuitive idea of the flavour profile of your beer, why would they choose your product over any of the dozens of others on the shelf?
Pulling this off is more complicated than it sounds. You have to consider a range of factors, from your brand identity to the packaging formats used to the substrate, print technology and inks used for the label. Teaming with a labelling partner with years of experience working in the beverage and beer industries is the most reliable way to achieve success.
Just like brewing, label design is a blend of art and science. Arguably, it’s the most important feature of your beer packaging – the one that draws in new customers and convinces them to trust you with their disposable income over every other beer brand. It’s the first step on a consumer journey that can last a lifetime, so you want to entrust its creation to the safest pair of hands you can find. And, with decades of experience in crafting high-impact, functional, and durable labels for the beer industry, there’s no safer pair of hands than OPM Group!
Our vast experience means we’re familiar with a range of substrates and print processes for both cans and bottles. No matter what your brand identity is, we have the tools to help you get your message across as clearly as possible.
The foundation of your label – and therefore your message – is the label substrate. This influences the look and, crucially, the feel of your label, and affects its performance as it moves through the supply chain. We offer a range of face stocks and specialise in crafting durable, curl-resistant labels that offer high wet strength – essential for any product that spends much of its life in the refrigerator.
When you partner with OPM, you have the freedom to choose from a range of high-performance face stocks, from premium soft-touch fibres to clear films for a ‘no-label’ look to rustic, natural-feeling labels made from recycled fruit pulp. Gloss paper, textured face stocks, metallised options – you can choose anything, safe in the knowledge that we’ll make it work for your brand.
Also available is a dizzying range of embellishments and effects that can make your label design pop. Utilising these finishing techniques is a careful balancing act – you want your label to stand out, but you don’t want to go overboard and make it too busy. This is where an experienced labelling partner comes into their own – we won’t put limits on design creativity, but will narrow down the massive range of options available to help you make smart choices.
For example, we might suggest using spot varnish or embossing on typography to make it stand out and add depth to the design. If you’re a premium brand, you might benefit from high-end hot or cold foiling or a gloss coating. Maybe you have a particularly colourful label design that you want to enhance with chameleon ink – a colour-shifting ink – or glow-in-the-dark coatings for a spooky seasonal Halloween brew.
Seasonal beers are a proven sales success, but they require an agile printing process to help maximise profit margins. You don’t want to be left with a long run of labels that go unsold. That’s why we employ both digital printing for short-run lines, as well as full HD flexo printing for year-round core lines.
At every step of the process, the design possibilities are endless. So, which are the right ones to incorporate into your label design? This is something only you can answer, but OPM Group will always work with you to dig deep beneath the surface and understand what makes your brand tick. Beer is a drink with thousands of years of history behind it, and your brand is a part of that history. That means your label is the perfect medium to tell your story to consumers – and we’ve got the tools to make sure you can do justice to it.
Shakespeare once wrote, “For a quart of ale is a dish for a king.” With OPM Group, you can give your beer a label to match! To learn more about our beer labelling solutions, contact us at sales@opmgroup.co.uk today.
