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Have you made it through starting your beverage brand and pitching your idea to bottling services yet? It’s almost time to start selling your amazing new beverage creation — but there are a few more things to consider. One factor you shouldn’t overlook is packaging material. If you’ve decided to use glass bottles for your beverage, this is the piece for you! Read on to discover the pros and cons of colored versus clear glass and figure out what will make your brand stand out among all the others at the store.
Benefits of clear glass
Classy, Timeless Feel
Because clear glass bottles remind many customers of days gone by, this option instantly adds a “retro” feeling to any beverage packaging. If you’re marketing to older adults or just trying to make your brand feel vintage, you can’t go wrong with clear glass bottles!
Highlights Beverage Color
If you’ve just made an awesome new cotton-candy-flavored soft drink that’s a brilliant shade of pink, chances are good you want to show off the beautiful color of your creation. Clear glass bottles are perfect for this since they naturally highlight the hues of your beverage. However, clarity can come at a cost: clear bottles also might reveal little imperfections you haven’t smoothed out yet. If you’re still working out the ingredient composition of your beverage, consider holding off on deciding which type of glass to use until you’ve gotten through the testing (and tasting!) process.
Eco-Friendly and Recyclable
When it comes to eco-friendliness, glass bottles are the way to go (if you won’t be using aluminum cans, that is)! Glass is easily recyclable, can be cleaned and sterilized with ease, and can be infinitely reused. That means that with a little help from your customers, you’ll make the world a better place, one bottle at a time!
Benefits of colored glass
UV Protection
Did you know that many alcohol manufacturers use brown or amber glass to protect their bottles’ contents from UV light? Bottling beer in longneck bottles began in the 19th century, but usually, these bottles were clear or lightly tinted. However, in the 1930s, brewers began to notice that their beer went bad faster in clear bottles. Further research revealed that photochemical reactions occurred between the beer and the sunlight. To protect their beer from the gross “skunky” taste that these chemical reactions caused, brewers started selling beer in brown bottles, which block most visible light from penetrating the glass.
During World War I, when brown glass was in short supply, brewers switched to green glass for a short time. Some brands have not changed this tradition, while others returned to brown glass after the war.
This isn’t just a short, fun history lesson. It’s also a piece of information you can put to good use! If you’re selling an alcoholic beverage that reacts to UV light wavelengths, using brown glass may help preserve its taste. It can also create an “old-timey” look and feel for your brand if nostalgia is something you’re thinking about using in your marketing.
Make Your Brand “Pop!”
Choosing colored glass is a great way to make your brand stand out. Among rows of clear glass bottles, different varieties of colors “pop” out to catch customers’ attention. When combined with a winning label design, colored bottles can get your beverage flying off the shelves!
Eco-Friendly and Recyclable
Just like clear bottles, colored glass bottles are also fully recyclable. That means no matter whether you choose clear, pink, red, or brown glass (or another color entirely), you can still feel good about helping the planet.
Some customers may be unsure if they can recycle colored glass. Because of this, you may need to take some extra time to make recycling instructions clearer or more noticeable on colored glass bottles. However, keeping all that plastic out of the landfill is well worth it!
Drawbacks of clear glass
While you can still dream up as many bottle shapes as you can possibly imagine, there’s no way around it: choosing clear glass means you might limit your brand’s shelf visibility. Think of the most iconic bottles you’ve seen: with the exception of a few iconic soft drinks, many famous beverages come in specific brown or green glass bottles. By limiting yourself to clear glass, you’ll have to get extra creative with your packaging to compensate. However, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing! The more creative you are with your beverage packaging, the more potential customers you’ll attract.
No UV Protection
If you choose clear glass, your beverage will have reduced protection against UV light since there’s no barrier against UV rays. However, unless you’re in the business of brewing beer or another light-sensitive beverage, UV protection may not actually be necessary. Before you begin looking for co-packing services, do some research on the best preservation practices for your specific type of drink.
Drawbacks of colored glass
Upfront Cost
Colored glass is more expensive to produce than clear glass. The difference isn’t enormous, but it can make a dent in your starting budget. Sticking to clear glass may be a more economically sound choice if you’re trying to pinch pennies as you get your beverage brand off the ground.
Can Obscure Color
That green bottle might make your brand stand out — but it also has the effect of obscuring the color of the beverage inside. While there are plenty of success stories about brands using colored glass, if the color of your drink is an important part of its appeal, no bottle color might be the best way to highlight this marketable feature.
Be the next big thing!
Get started building your beverage brand today with Best Bev! Our bottling and co-packing services are designed to help YOU get YOUR awesome idea off the ground. What are you waiting for? Get in contact with experts online today or give us a call anytime. We’re excited to work with you!