To launch a new line of three premium Beck’s beers in on- and off-premise channels in Germany, Anheuser-Busch InBev looked to a fresh label design along with innovative label materials and printing techniques that could set the line apart and provide a more high-end appearance.
“The launch of Beck’s Taste the World range required a unique appearance,” says Oliver Bartelt, Head of Communications for AB InBev Germany. “The ambition was to create a super-premium look with a clean and progressive design and special and innovative printing effects, and at the same time respect the brand’s heritage.”
According to Grupo Solutions Branding & Packaging Design GmbH, which worked with AB InBev on the design, the defined objective of the launch was to generate new target groups with a strong premium concept and an aggressive design strategy. At the same time, Grupo Solutions says, the aim was to inspire consumers with new beers from around the world and to boost sales. In terms of branding, the goal was to create a lasting link between a youthful and dynamic brand image, the values and origins of Beck’s, and the premium concept.
With this strategy in mind, Grupo Solutions and AB InBev designed a front-panel label that is inspired by Beck’s iconic cartouche architecture, but has a darker, more upscale look. The emblem and background of the cartouche are black, while the Beck’s logo and the lettering for the “Beck’s Brewery and Co Bremen Germany” copy are set in silver. Underneath the logo is the variety name in a corresponding color: Amber Lager uses amber-colored copy, Pale Ale appears in a green reminiscent of the Cascade hops, and 1873 Pils uses a fresh silver color in harmony with the classical origins of the brewery.
The neck label is also black, with the variety name running in color vertically up the label. A colored band at the bottom of the label further differentiates the flavor. On the back label, a “taste-scale” appears mid-center that gives the consumer additional information about the beer, including alcohol content, hops, flavor and aroma, using points on a scale.
All three labels are constructed of a white, high-gloss paper stock chosen for its ability “to support high-quality, clear, brilliant printing, even with complicated special finishes,” says Bartelt. The label stock also allows for high printing and labeling speeds and provides good ink retention in the washing solution.
Labels are printed by Constantia Flexibles in seven colors via gravure printing and use a varnish developed by AB InBev’s Packaging and Innovation Department that produces a matte-gloss effect. An ink and lacquer system resists humidity when bottles are dropped into ice buckets or when condensation originates on cold bottles.
Additionally, the neck labels are printed with a special varnish that simplifies the handling of returnable empties by UV mark recognition. Explains Bartelt, “We made several trials with different UV marks and lacquers in different positions to define, together with our external sorting partners, the most detectable combination of lacquer and position of the marks. At the end, we decided on a yellow/orange full-mantle UV lacquer layer under the matte varnish on the whole label surface. With the existing detection system (UV light source and UV detection camera), we are now able to define the position of the green bottles within the crate and separate these bottles during the sorting process.”
Labels for the Taste of the World range are applied to the bottles at Beck’s Bremen, Germany, brewery using Krones Topmatic cold-glue labelers. The new Beck’s beer line was introduced in spring 2015.
