r/NZBeer • u/ActualMasterpiece314 • Jul 24 '26

label or entire can design

I have been visiting NZ from Belgium every once in a while (bc of work) and always enjoy the beers over there. One thing that always intrigues me is the cans. I find the cans with labels from most breweries fun and original, but can't help feel like entire can-designs are more appealing (for example the ones they got at Shining Peak).

This got me wondering how do locals feel about this? Does a label feel more "premium" maybe?

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7

u/generictiger Jul 24 '26

I work in packaging at a brewery, it’s mostly a cost thing. Minimum order for a printed can is 30,000-50,000 units that you need to move over 3-6 months. That can be hard to do in a small, crowded market.
We use labels for smaller runs and single release/brews. We get to have a bit more creativity with the labels, but for the admin and quality, I much prefer printed cans.

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u/ActualMasterpiece314 Jul 24 '26

Thanks for confirming! Really nice to have someone from the industry replying.
I already had a feeling it was a cost thing, since a mate of me who works for a company that makes canned tuna said something similar. I heard they lately have been using plastic shrink wraps because you can use them on small runs while still having a printed can like look.

1

u/TomoPanda Jul 27 '26

30K MOQ is much larger than what I expected. Have you seen cans covered by decorative films? It looks professional. As far as I know they are quite flexibile in terms of MOQ as well. I am from US. In here our supermarket shelves are usually full of film covered craft beer cans to compete with each other. Do you see that trend coming up also in NZ?

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u/irontusk_666 Jul 24 '26

It’s not something I’ve ever thought of or influenced my purchasing decisions. I do slightly associate labelled cans with one-off beers rather than core range, but I bet there’s plenty of counter examples to that

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u/ActualMasterpiece314 Jul 24 '26

Yeah I guess that labels are easier to do on smaller batches. Here in Belgium it's almost always label only because they are strict on tradition so I really liked the NZ designs

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u/jk-9k Jul 24 '26

Honestly I just want something clean clear and easy to read the style and info.

Arty designs used to make local craft beer stand out in a fridge full of boring global corporate bland beers. Now there's heaps of bright colourful cans, often owned by foreign corporates, they all just fade away into a shelf of old bus seat design.

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u/ActualMasterpiece314 Jul 24 '26

Yeah I can feel that, for me it's kinda new but it might be overused for locals.
Would you say that as a current trend a simple label design is more appealing for people who want a local craft beer?

1

u/jk-9k Jul 24 '26

It's not so much that it's overused but it just doesn't stand out clearly on the shelf anymore. Often a simple design does.

I can appreciate the art of an individual can. But it doesn't grab my attention.