At the end of 2017, the United States was home to more than 6,300 breweries. That statistic represents a 16 percent increase in the number of breweries from the year before. Among the states, California ranked the highest, with 764 craft breweries and an economic impact of more than $7 billion.

With such high stakes, it’s becoming more difficult for craft brewers to stand out and remain competitive. You may have the best-tasting beer on the shelf, but chances are you won’t meet your sales goals without an eye-catching design that inspires people to pick up your bottles or cans. Half the battle is simply getting the attention of potential customers, even if it’s just for a moment.

If you’re looking for a way to differentiate your beer, a creative beer label design can tell your brand’s story while representing the aesthetics of your brewery and your target beverage aficionados. According to brand builder Oliver Russell, the competitive beer market “makes packaging more important than ever.”

Here are some simple steps you can take to prioritize packaging and transform brand awareness.

Tell Your Story

Building your brand is all about telling your story. A custom beer label offers an excellent medium with which to tell that story. Be aware, however, that consumers have a keen eye for authenticity.

According to marketing professor Julie Napoli, consumers notice three dimensions of brand authenticity:

  • Heritage
  • Sincerity
  • Commitment to quality

Heritage doesn’t mean that your brewery has to have been around the longest; what matters is that you respect your roots, influences, where you’ve been, and how that informs where you’re going. At the same time, a high-quality, personalized beer label stands as a testament to your commitment to the craft.

Consider Your Options

With beer bottle and can labels, we can create just about anything you can think up. In another post, we covered the different options you have for designing the right label, from custom label shape to label material.

Bottles may offer more playful options, but cans provide more space to include images and designs that tell your story, and cans have longer shelf lives. Can’t decide? If you have the budget, you can always try both and discover for yourself which appeals more to your customers.

Compelling Design Begins With Your Logo

Want your brewery to be the favorite among fishermen across the United States? Make sure your logo incorporates a fish or a body of water! When you give consumers what they want on the label, you can be confident they’ll get what they want by drinking your beer.

Ready to learn more about how a beer label partner can transform your marketing strategy and brand awareness? Contact our experts today, and we’ll work with you to craft a label that’s as carefully crafted as your brews.