CORONADO, Calif., & CHICAGO -- Two high-end-beer brewers will begin packaging their products in cans for the first time this spring in an effort to drive additional trial by appealing to more use occasions.
Pacifico's Packaging
Constellation Brands Inc., Chicago, will launch the first-ever can format in the United States for Pacifico, its Pilsner-style Mexican beer. Beginning in March, single-serve 24-ounce cans of Pacifico will be available in 35 states.
"With the 24-ounce can, we can now offer more trial opportunities at retail where other Pacifico packages may not be available, giving consumers more chances to try the brand,” said Jim Sabia, chief marketing officer for Constellation Brands Beer Division.
Constellation began offering its Corona Mexican import in cans in 2000 with the same rationale, and growth has been significant ever since.
Most recently, “Corona Extra cans have gone from 2.5% [of total sales in 2014] to over 5% of total sales for this brand since being [re]introduced in March [with a new design],” a company spokesperson told Convenience Store Products magazine in October. “We’ve been extremely pleased with the results so far.”
Coronado's Cans
Meanwhile, Coronado Brewing Co., Coronado, Calif., will release some of its craft beers in cans for the first time in the company's 20-year history. The new can launch comes as part of a brand refresh that "highlights a coastal lifestyle," according to the company, "encouraging consumers to get out and enjoy their beers anywhere they may find themselves."
Two Coronado beers, Islander IPA and Orange Avenue Wit, will be the first to make it into cans. Also, Coronado Brewing is introducing its brand-new pale ale, Easy Up Pale Ale, into the canned lineup.
"We are very excited about the release of our new Stay Coastal cans; this is something we have been talking about for many years," said Brandon Richards, Coronado's vice president of sales and marketing. "Here at Coronado Brewing, our lives are very much tied to the outdoors and West Coast lifestyle. Having our beer available in a can opens us up to many of those drinking occasions that lend well to us living that lifestyle."
The can launch is also the first look consumers will get of Coronado Brewing's new branding and logos on packaged product. This is a transition the company plans to roll out over the next few seasons with the release of new limited brewer's series, and eventually core bottles.
Coronado's canned beers will hit shelves and restaurants in the middle of March.
Craft-beer brewers have been slower to embrace cans for their beers but are slowly making the move.
According to a Brewers Association survey, only 2% of craft beer was produced in cans in 2011. That increased to 10% in 2014, according to the Convenience Store Products report. Sixty percent of craft beer is bottled, and 30% is draft.
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