On store shelves, you have seconds to capture a buyer’s attention to get them to notice your beer, pick it up, and ultimately purchase a can or a case. In a flood of craft beer options—both at retailers and online—how do you make your beer’s label stand out?
In its research, Nielsen reports that 70% of consumers choose their beer at time of purchase, rather than knowing ahead of time what brand or style. That same study found that the majority of purchasers put packaging and labels as one of the most important factors in a purchase decision.
The label can have a significant impact on purchases for craft beer. A consumer has to like your label before they’ll be able to try your finely-crafted product.
Whether you’re packaging in bottles, cans, or crowlers, here are our tips for creating a craft beer label that stands out.
1. Use Color for Bold & Interesting Looks
We’re not saying you have to have a rainbow of colors on your label. On the contrary, dark, seductive designs can capture as much attention as bright, flamboyant looks.
The blend of colors on your label have to be as well-thought-out as the blend inside the bottle. Everything works together to create a visual experience that serves as the first attention-grabbing step in the buying journey.
Nielsen, in the study mentioned above, found that 71% of craft beer buyers say they like to try brands with bold and interesting packaging.
Creature Comforts shows how you can use simple colors and white space (left) or bold colors (right) to give completely different experiences with color.
View this post on Instagram
2. Use Texture so Customers Can “Feel” Your Beer
Beer isn’t just about taste and sight, it’s also about feel. Take your label into 3D with textures and tactile varnishes that give that “oh wow” impression as a buyer is making their decision.
With our wide range of finishing capabilities, you can customize the feeling of your label almost as much as you customize your blends. Add embossing, stamping, varnish, or more to get the buyer’s senses involved in the experience.
Smog City uses a felt paper material with foil embellishments so consumers can feel the Infinite Wishes.
View this post on Instagram
Eagle Rock Brewery uses color, shapes, and a foil finish on their can labels to create a unique, eye-catching look and feel.
View this post on Instagram
3. Get Unique or Die Trying
As in die cuts. Your labels don’t have to be square. Catch eyes and go out-of-the-box with unique craft beer label shapes. Choose from standard shapes, or go custom to align with your brand.
Creature Comforts uses die cuts to show off their honey wheat. A standout design, printed on a corresponding shaped label, catches the eye and tells a story.
View this post on Instagram
4. Obsessively Align With Your Brand
You’ve heard the importance of branding your brewery and your beer. When you build loyal customers, they should be able to immediately pick out your packaging from a crowd. To make that happen, your label needs to integrate consistent brand elements and use small details to share your brand story.
For example, if part of your brand is being green/eco-friendly, you can use recycled paper to stay on-brand. If your brand is goofy and off-the-wall, you can use colors and textures to show that personality. If you’re more serious, you can show that with dark colors, gold finishes, and clean fonts.
A Cellador Ales “Forever Ago” label is immediately recognizable.
View this post on Instagram
Like Riip, you can even stay on-brand with labels that let you write in the beer name, ABV%, date information, and more.
View this post on Instagram
5. Partner With a Craft Beer Label Expert
You’re the beer experts, we’re the label experts. There are endless options for making your craft beer label stand out. You’ll get the best results if you partner with a designer and a craft beer label printer that knows the challenges and needs of the industry.
When you work with AWT, you get more than a label printer. You get a partner. We help brainstorm and create labels that help tell your story and catch eyes on the shelves (or computer screens). We love working with breweries in the early stages of label design to build a work of art worthy of your brand.
Do you want to make your craft beer label stand out? Talk with one of our craft beer label experts to brainstorm how to bring your vision to life.
