By AWA Alexander Watson Associates
Bottles, cans, and now flexible packaging… Beverage labels in general are a major component of the end uses for labels, and they employ all the major formats of printing and product decoration – glue applied labels (cold (wet) glue applied and wraparound); pressure-sensitive labels; heat shrink (TD) sleeve labels; in-mold labels (for crates); direct-printed glass bottles, PET bottles and metal cans; and large and small metal kegs, either labeled or direct printed.
Beers and wines today are also employing a wide variety of the currently-available packaging technologies, which in turn is creating new opportunities for label print. AWA’s research documents the changes that are additionally redefining the profiles of these two major end-user markets in every respect, in terms of products, sources, and volume consumption.
While the market for wines remains globally flat, it represents a strong opportunity for label print. Europe remains the largest wine producing region, with a 60% share, and a parallel share of label volumes; and North America and South America share second place, each with a 12% share. While China’s wine consumption – currently only 5% of the global market — is forecast to grow in parallel with its economic growth, India is currently offering a better medium-term development opportunity.
This is a highly-fragmented market. A label converter’s contact point with a customer may be the viticulturist/wine growing community, a local sales company, a distributor, or – in the case of a large-volume wine production company –a retail conglomerate. The top 20 wine producers hold an estimated market share of just <20% of global volumes, so from a packaging and labeling viewpoint this is unquestionably a regionally/locally focused marketplace.
Now retail dominates
Globally, wine production is currently evidencing a number of trends and innovations. Low-alcohol wines are enjoying popularity, as are single-service bottles. Most wine is now sold from the supermarket shelf and, as consumer studies indicate, 80% of customers who choose to pick up a bottle from the shelf will buy it – and therefore high-visibility product labeling is a strong requirement.
While, globally, the choice of packaging for wines remains focused on glass bottles, there is increasing evidence of the use of PET bottles and flexible packaging pouches – particularly for ‘on the go’ consumer consumption.
The increasing importance of the retail shelf for wines is also encouraging the use of a wider range of product decoration options, including direct-to-container digital print on glass and PET; decorative head-to-toe plastic shrink sleeves; and limited editioning/personalization. The ‘label’ also forms an integral part of the packaging for bag-in-box wine applications, gable-topped cartons and flexible pouches – all of which are gaining market share for high-volume wines today.
Wine label specification
While glue-applied labeling still claims 18% of the world market, pressure-sensitive labeling dominates wine label print, with a 79% global share in 2018. Typical glass wine bottle labeling will generally accommodate, as well as the main label, a back label, which will incorporate product authentication/brand security and regulatory product information requirements; and a neck label. For both ‘special’ bottles and supermarket wines, paper — both coated and uncoated — remains the leading choice of label facestock, but pressure-sensitive film labels have also brought the popular ‘no label look’ to retail wines – particularly apposite for white and rosé wines.
Another part of the label specification – particularly for white wines — may be the requirement to withstand immersion in an ice bucket when the wine is served, without delaminating from the bottle. Paper label qualities with built-in barrier coatings are available to meet this requirement, and this is an area where a plastic film label – an impermeable substrate – can offer a real advantage, retaining its good looks throughout its working life.
Applying the labels
As well as a wide choice of label substrates, pressure-sensitive wine labels arranged and printed together on the same release base offer another benefit for the wine industry. Costly-to-repair wet glue label application lines can be replaced with pressure-sensitive label applicator lines, which cleanly and accurately apply front, back, and neck labels to each bottle in a single machine pass. Such machines are now widely employed in individual vineyards to apply their own labels, and mobile bottling/labeling lines are also accessible for wine producers, particularly in California, at appropriate times of the year; and in many wine-producing countries,
Another economical solution for wine producers is to have eye-catching ‘generic’ pressure-sensitive labels printed in large quantities and then, annually, add details of vintage, varietal, etc as required by overprinting.
Looking ahead
