How Can Craft Breweries Stand Out From the Crowd?

The rise of craft beer has no doubt significantly improved the quality and variety of alcoholic beverages for sale. It has also increased consumer choice to the point of oversaturation. These days, craft beer menus at overachieving neighborhood bars are beginning to resemble high-end wine lists in scope. New independent breweries are popping up, seemingly at every street corner. Specialty liquor stores and even grocery stores are filling shelves with new beer brands as fast as they can be released.

“There are no longer three or four holiday beers on the shelves, there are dozens,” Dave Collins, marketing director at Avery Dennison, told Package Printing. “There’s more money [being made] at grocery stores selling beer than there is ketchup. So there is an increase in shelf space being dedicated to [beer].”

How can budding craft brewers stand out amid the competition?

This is a highly favorable arrangement for craft beer aficionados, who can visit their favorite establishments several times a week and rarely drink the same beer twice. It’s more of a problem for the producers themselves. Many craft breweries are still quite small, and are struggling to compete in a massive field.

There are only so many ways to brew a delicious stout or IPA. So, how can budding craft brewers stand out amid the competition?

The answer is unique packaging that will catch a consumer’s eye. In addition to varying their beer offerings, breweries are experimenting with an ever-wider range of labeling styles. Some are eschewing a modern look for a more traditional untreated paper. Others are heading in the opposite direction, finding new uses for colored metallic foil. Canning, a technique that was once largely dominated by big macrobrews, is increasingly seen as an attractive option for craft producers.

By investing in their own printers for custom labels, firms can take control of their labeling and stand out from the crowd. At DuraFast, we carry a wide selection of printers and printing supplies that can help.