Imagine walking into the liquor store on a Friday night. You look past the brews you’ve already tried for something new. You spot a silver and gold capsule of a can, with a strange goggled figure on the label. The copy tells you this beer was formulated to fuel your journey through the multiverse, and it contains a sci-fi album as the soundtrack. To get the album, there’s a special hashtag. By tweeting it, you’ll receive a message telling you what you’re doing right now in a parallel reality, and a link to the music. Curiosity piqued, you bring it home, crack it open, take out your phone, and experience audio, visual, touch and taste in a single moment in time.
The T.R.I.P. album release beer is the first time a new studio album has ever been released on a beer can. The challenge that prompted the unique project was to figure out how to get people buying new music again, while helping a small indie band reach new fans. The solution: Pair the band with a brewery and turn the beer aisle into the next record store. The Lights Out wrote an album about traveling through parallel realities, and Aeronaut Brewing Co. developed a beer to pair with the songs. “A lot of the same people who once walked the music store aisles every weekend are now going to the beer store at least that often, with the aim of discovering something new. Most beer decisions happen in front of the cold case. The opportunity for someone to discover a band there caught our curiosity,” says Adam Ritchie, owner of Adam Ritchie Brand Direction and guitarist for The Lights Out.
T.R.I.P. used design in a creative way to solve a decades-old music industry problem, give consumers a complete sensory experience with visual, touch and taste, and restore music fans’ physical relationship with new music. The campaign resulted in a new way for music to be discovered, generated international attention and caused the product to quickly sell out. “Adam’s team created a tremendous launch experience which completely transcended the ordinary and set a new standard for how these things should be done,” says Aeronaut Brewing Co. co-founder Ben Holmes. “It’s a game-changer that succeeded beyond our wildest expectations.”
Sonoco has issued its 2021 Annual Report to Shareholders and announced the date for its 2022 Annual General Meeting. The annual report, entitled Better Than Ever details the Company’s 2021 financial results, its strategy and the complementary $1.35 billion acquisition of Ball Metalpack, a leading manufacturer of sustainable tin-plate food and aerosol containers, along with closures and packaging components. “Sonoco’s purpose is Better Packaging. Better Life. This means we are committed to creating sustainable packaging solutions that help build our customers brands, enhance the quality of their products and improve the quality of life for our stakeholders around the world,” Howard Coker, Sonoco President and Chief Executive Officer, wrote to shareholders. “We also believe our value-creation strategy – to be the benchmark company for yield and stability in the packaging industry – will make Sonoco Better than Ever.”
BeerSelect is the first brewery in Belgium to use Smurfit Kappa’s automated TopClip system. Smurfit Kappa has provided a pioneering Belgian craft brewer with an end-to-end packaging system, TopClip, the 100% paper-based replacement for shrink wrap that bundles beverage multi-packs. BeerSelect has enjoyed significant growth over the last three years and attracted considerable attention from investors and beer drinkers alike. The brewer was looking for packaging that would align with its sustainability aspirations, and an automated machine system to efficiently produce the solution in-house. Smurfit Kappa reviewed every aspect of BeerSelect’s operations and decided that the most effective solution was to build and install its Mid-Speed TopClip machine at BeerSelect’s green-field brewery. This machine has proven its worth for many small and medium-sized drinks companies as it can handle 30,000 cans per hour and is flexible enough to switch between different configurations to bundle four, six and eight packs of cans.
First Quarter Summary • Reported sales increased 17%, including the positive effect of currency rates (+10%) • Core sales, excluding currency effects, rose 7% driven by growth in each business segment • Reported net income (8% of net sales) increased 14% to $59 million • Adjusted EBITDA (19% of net sales) increased 17% to $134 million • Reported earnings per share grew 14% to $0.92 and included costs associated with our business transformation ($0.07 per share) • Adjusted earnings per share of $0.99 compared to prior year reported earnings per share of $0.81 (+22%) and to prior year currency adjusted earnings per share of $0.90 (+10%) • Business transformation progressing as planned. Click Read More below for additional information.
