'Sleek Can' work sees Ball Packaging crack Italian market

10-Jul-2012 - Last updated on 12-Jul-2012 at 07:50 GMT

Ball Packaging has managed to break into the Italian market with its new 330ml 'sleek can', with Italian beverage company San Benedetto adopting the packaging across RTD tea, Tonica and Lemon Schweppes lines.

The 330ml can was first launched in the UK last autumn - via Pepsi products - while in May the can hit Poland in its older 250ml format, a Coke launch to coincide with the Euro 2012 soccer tournament, which saw Ball pointing to "growing consumer needs related to comfort and a dynamic lifestyle".

Myriam Galmes, sales manager at Ball Packaging Europe, said today that she also expected several energy drink and tea producers to adopt the can in Germany and the Netherlands soon, since they were pursuing "the health and wellness trend".

Companies such as San Benedetto used a range of packaging forms and sizes to attract new and different consumer groups, Ball explained, where the sleek can was slimmer and five per cent lighter than standard 330ml cans, despite its equivalent capacity.

"By selecting the lightweight beverage container with its slim diameter of only 58 mm, San Benedetto aims to reach a trend-conscious, modern public," Ball Packaging said.

"The slender format of the sleek can itself represents health, youth and freshness. To further attract buyer attention, the company employs high definition printing on the cans, a technique that provides brilliant detail."

Schweppes packaging switch

Ball said that Thè San Benedetto (pictured) was highly popular with Italian families, 10.3m of whom said it is their preferred family product, according to September 2010 statistics from German analysis firm GfK.

"The sleek can with its slim and elegant form broadens the beverage’s packaging portfolio of normal 330ml cans. Its tall format stands out on the shelf, giving San Benedetto an added edge at the point of sale," Ball Packaging said.

"Schweppes is the leading brand in tonic water with almost 70% of the Italian market by volume. The Tonic and Lemon sleek cans will fully replace the standard cans in Italy," the company added.

Speaking to BeverageDaily.com after the UK 330ml sleek can launch last September, a Ball Packaging spokesman told BeverageDaily.com that the company had noted a trend towards a growing variety of can sizes “as a consequence of the mega-trend towards ‘individualisation’.”

“Consumers increasingly want to make their individual choice, and have packaging customised to their individual needs,” she added

Scorzè-based San Benedetto is active in over 80 countries across all five continents, with its leading segment . mineral water, followed by RTD teas, while it produces and distributes Schweppes tonic water in the country under licence.