New York (CNN) Suddenly your drink is taller.
Beverage brands rely on packaging shape and design to attract consumers. Now they’re counting on a new line of thin aluminum cans to subtly signal consumers that their exotic new beverages are healthier than the beer and sodas in the short, round cans of yesteryear.
Topo Chico, Simply and SunnyD have recently launched alcoholic seltzer and cocktails in tall, thin cans, while Day One, Celsius and Starbucks have launched carbonated water and energy drinks in new slim cans. Coke with Coffee also came out in a slim version last year.
As if describing a human being, Ball (BLL), one of the largest aluminum can makers, emphasizes the “shorter, leaner physique” of its 12 oz. slimmer cans compared to its classic (also 12 oz.) sturdier version.
Beverage makers are aiming to make their products stand out on crowded shelves and save money on shipping and packaging with skinny cans, analysts and beverage makers say.
“Consumers see slim cans as more sophisticated, which makes them feel more sophisticated,” said Duane Stanford, editor of industry journal Beverage Digest. “For people who spend $3 on a mushroom elixir, they want the packaging to be trendy too.”
aluminum cans
Soft drinks appeared in cans as early as 1938, but the first aluminum soda can was used for diet soda called “Slenderella” in 1963, according to the Can Manufacturers Institute, a trade association. Pepsi and Cola followed until 1967.
Traditionally, beverage manufacturers opted for the 12 oz. Squat model to create more space to advertise the contents of your drink on the body of the can with colorful details and logos.
Businesses have even been stumped over the switch to skinny-can models. In 2011, Pepsi released a “bigger, bolder” version of its traditional can. The tin presented at New York Fashion Week carried the slogan: “The New Skinny”. It was widely criticized as offensive and the National Eating Disorders Association said the company’s comments were both “thoughtless and irresponsible”.
White Claw’s thin white cans have spawned imitators.
So why bring it back now? Partly because slim cans are considered high quality and innovative. A growing number of beverages are aimed at health-conscious consumers, and slim cans signal these qualities.
Companies are copying the success of other brands’ Slim Cans. Red Bull was one of the first brands to popularize slim cans, and White Claw was successful with its hard seltzer in thin white cans.
Aluminum cans are more environmentally friendly than plastics, regardless of size, said Judith Enck, a former Environmental Protection Agency regional administrator and current president of Beyond Plastics. They can be made from recycled material and are more easily recycled. When littered, they don’t pose the same risk as plastic, she said.
There’s also a business appeal to thin designs.
Brands can squeeze more 12 oz. skinny cans on store shelves, warehouse pallets and trucks than wider cans, said Dave Fedewa, a partner at McKinsey who advises retail and consumer products companies. That means higher sales and cost savings.
But the key, Fedewa said, is that thin cans catch the eye: “It’s funny how much growth that can do in retail.”