Did you know…
According to a study, 66% of American craft beer buyers say that a beer’s package and label is very important for getting their attention. As well, 60% of those same buyers say that the package and label are important in convincing them to purchase.
Crazy! Craft beer labels really do have an effect. Let’s take a look at why…
History of craft beer
In the US, the craft beer industry began in the 1960s. This all came about as popularity over homebrewing increased and microbreweries started to pop up.
Originally, craft brewers sold their beer to wholesalers who then sold to retailers. Because of this three-party involvement, craft brewers received little margin.
Eventually, as the industry grew and craft beer became more popular, breweries started selling direct to consumers through their taprooms. This led to a much higher margin and allowed breweries to invest and experiment with their beer and brand.
The components of the label
First impressions are everything, and that’s why careful consideration of the label is so important.
The components of the label are everything you can visually see on a beer can or bottle. This is the first thing people will see, and it is often what gets people to buy.
The components include color, label shape/size, typography, style & imagery, and words (descriptive).
While this may seem simple, ensuring each component fits well together is not an easy task.
The importance of the label
Today, to stand out in a saturated craft beer market, breweries have to differentiate themselves.
How?
Through branding and label design.
The first thing people notice when browsing beer options in a store is the can. Unless they know about your brewery, your can needs to stand out.
Many breweries do this by incorporating bright colors, abstract imagery, and funky, descriptive wording to describe the beer.
How do breweries do this?
Breweries often outsource this work and hire artists to design and craft their beer labels. Beer labels help breweries establish a visual identity through components such as imagery, style and color etc. These labels tell a story in a way that connects to the buyer, and each story differs with the type of beer.
It is safe to say that knowledge about hops and fermentation is just as equally important as marketing (and perfecting the beer label).
What does a good beer label look like?
Well, here is a 2018 BC Craft Beer winner for ‘Best Label Design’.
What I love about this can design is that it has a minimalistic feel, with a slight pop to it. With the cassette tape wrapping around the bottle and the shiny rainbow glow, this can definitely stands out. Although the can design only has a few colors, the design and aesthetic of this can are what really catch my eye.
Lessons learned from well-crafted beer labels
The moral of the story – craft beer labels are everything! Not only that, but having good creative and visual design is important for any business. Whether that is website design, advertising creative, packaging, storefront layout etc, design & creative is what pulls people in.
So, if you want to stand out online as much as a great craft beer label does on the shelf, you’ll need to get creative online. Try Adacado, and see how easy building good online creatives can be, for your online advertising.
