The standard 500ml can dimensions (66.1mm diameter and 168mm height) provide a highly compatible basis for bespoke packaging, but technical and cost feasibility has to be compromised. Take the example of Yanki Forest. It bespoke ultra-thin cans (wall thickness 0.18mm and 162mm height) in 2022, while maintaining the capacity of 500 milliliters. The per-can expenditure of aluminum materials was reduced by 14%, however, the mold expenditure to create amounted to 120,000 US dollars (an increase of 0.003 US dollars per can in cost thinning), and the minimum order quantity (MOQ) needed was more than 500,000 units to be sustainable. Ball Corporation’s smart can solution, by adding an NFC chip in the bottom of the can (increasing height to 168.4 millimeters), adds a cost of $0.03 per can but increases the consumer engagement rate by 40%. It is suitable for leading brands with a more than 100 million can per year purchase volume.
Printability and structural customization viability is high. Carlsberg’s “Snap Pack” six-can shared can wall pack arrangement has raised the diameter of a single can to 67.5 millimeters, reduced the adjacent spacing to 2 millimeters, and reduced the packaging volume by 24%. It has a tailor-made mold cost of 180,000 US dollars, and the line changeover time is extended by 30 minutes every time. In 2023, Orekin produced embossed texture cans (0.3 mm thickness) for a particular tea drink brand. The amount of printing ink used grew by 20%, and the cost per unit rose by 0.005 US dollars per unit. But the shelf visibility rose by 35%, and the sales volume of the new product within the first month of sale was higher than expected by 27%. The EU Green Packaging Directive limits coating thickness (≤5 microns) to such an extent that customized laser color can reflectance must be reduced from 85% to 70%. Nevertheless, increasing the recycling ratio of aluminum to 73% can offset the ESG deduction risk.
Lightweighting and designing functions together increase added value. The 500-milliliter cold brew coffee can (15-gram weight and 95 psi compressive strength) of Toyo Can-making of Japan for Sundeli has an extended shelf life to 18 months because of internal nitrogen filling technology (at 1.2-bar pressure). The cost per can increased by 0.02 US dollars, but the premium pricing strategy increased the gross profit margin by 8%. The folding aluminum tanks (compressed to 120 millimeters in height) of the American start-up CanO Water use nano-coating, cutting the empty tank transportation volume by 40%. However, the filling line should upgrade the sealing detection module (costing 250,000 US dollars), which is applicable in large factories with an annual production capacity of over 500 million.
Local needs and cost mechanisms dictate tailor-made decisions. Indian Hindalco offers domestic brands BIS-certified cans (with ± 0.5mm tolerance on diameter). Tailor-made embo-relief logos come at a price of just 0.055 US dollars per unit (0.08 US dollars for the same model within Europe), yet shipping by sea to Europe will incur a tariff and carbon footprint charge of 15% (12 euros per ton). Anheuser-busch InBev’s “Recyclable Ink Tank” project in Mexico has resulted in cost savings of $12,000 per million tanks in ink cost by reducing the printing area (30%), and energy consumption in recycling and melting has been reduced by 7%. However, compressive strength of the tank should be re-certified (90 psi to 95 psi) to meet the North American shelf stacking requirement.
Risk management should be proportional to the production size. The deviation of the ellipticity of the cans for small-batch personalization (MOQ < 100,000) (standard deviation ±0.3 mm) has resulted in a filling error rate of 2.5% (0.8% for standard cans). For instance, craft brewery BrewDog recorded a scrapping rate of as much as 4.7% in 2023 due to the necking design of the bespoke cans (diameter 58.2 mm) being incompatible with the filling line. Third-party websites such as Alibaba International Station have reduced the MOQ level to 200,000 from 500,000 by aggregating orders. However, the unit cost has increased by 19% (0.07→0.083 US dollars per unit), and the delivery cycle has been extended to 45 days (30 days for ordinary cans).