Can Aluminium Bottles Capitalise on Beverage Cans’ Success?

Metal beverage cans are a recent success story in the drinks packaging space. Seen as a practical, premium, and sustainable choice, cans are proving increasingly popular in many categories. Can aluminium bottles capitalise on that success and help metal packaging expand into drinks occasions less readily suited to cans?

Beverage cans remain a favoured choice 

Retail volumes of beverage cans increased each year from 2018 to 2023, receiving a significant boost during the pandemic, then continuing to benefit from at-home consumption trends, plus in alcoholic drinks, a notable gain in share from glass.

While volumes are led by beer and carbonates, cans have also become closely associated with dynamic growth categories popular with younger adult demographics, alcoholic RTDs for example, helping to cement cans’ status as a contemporary, attractive choice. 

49% of global respondents see “recyclable” as the top feature of sustainable packaging

^{Source: Euromonitor’s Voice of the Consumer: Lifestyles Survey, fielded January to February 2024 (n=33,210)} 

Aluminium cans offer the practical benefits of portability and convenience for single servings, and on the environmental front, a light weight and infinite recyclability. Generally speaking, high consumer participation in recycling is another plus point, although rates vary widely from one country to another, with the key US market recycling less than half of aluminium cans used, for instance. 

Those advantages are inspiring expansion into other categories; canned water and canned wine have seen a recent surge in interest, albeit from very low base levels. There are inherent limits to the format’s possible reach, however.

Broadening the horizons of metal packaging 

From a low base, aluminium bottles are slowly gaining uptake in beverages – sharing many of cans’ benefits, while being better suited to on-the-go occasions or drinks that are not consumed immediately after opening. 

To give a couple of examples in bottled water, the UK’s Re:Water (which features aluminium bottles) received a significant boost when it gained distribution in national retailer Marks & Spencer in 2024; and in the US, Proud Source water has used the format for several years. The easily resealable closure provides a major advantage for bottles over cans in water. Still, a premium price tag for bottles made from aluminium compared to PET will hamper uptake, especially in the present economic climate.

Metal bottles were the second fastest growing pack type in global beverages over 2018-2023, rising at a 12% retail unit volume CAGR

^{Source: Euromonitor International}

Elsewhere in the beverage space, in 2024 Diageo trialled a full-sized aluminium bottle in travel retail for cream-based liqueur, Baileys, and Rémy Cointreau launched ready-to-drink Cointreau Cocktail Twists in a 200ml bottle in the UK.

Innovation-led beverages (RTDs in alcohol, for example) are leading the way in the exploration of novel pack types. But even in the more traditional wine and spirits categories, the need to reduce the carbon footprint of packaging is driving moves towards lighter or refillable glass solutions, and alternative materials. Aluminium bottles are emerging as one potentially promising option.

Packaging is an essential feature of brand image in wine and spirits, and traditional associations with glass form a significant hurdle for alternatives, which will need to ensure they provide both an appealing initial visual impression and a seamless consumer experience to overcome perception concerns. 

Clarity in sustainability messaging will be crucial 

Aluminium bottles are relatively unfamiliar and represent a shift away from established pack types; a clear reason is needed to justify that change. It is therefore difficult to see a path to growth for aluminium bottles in drinks that is not based, at least in part, on environmental credentials, underlining the fact the format lends itself to more premium lines. As eco-friendly claims face greater scrutiny from regulators and consumers, clear and unambiguous communication is vital – not only in reference to the packaging itself, but the overall product too. 

All change in the beverage aisle? 

Realistically, aluminium bottles are not going to achieve major share gains in beverages in the near future, accounting for only around 1% of retail units sold at present. Key pack types are firmly established, and consumers can be reluctant to depart from familiar options given concerns about potential compromises in product experience – particularly in categories heavily influenced by tradition. Other pack types will also be competing for the same opportunities. 

Still, packaging diversification will only accelerate as brand owners seek ways to reduce environmental impacts and enhance differentiation on crowded shelves. Through the combination of a robust sustainability standing, convenience, and an eye-catching appearance, aluminium bottles have a good foundation for taking on the challenges ahead. 

Learn about the latest developments in the global packaging landscape in our report, World Market for Packaging, or read Competitor Strategies in Alcoholic Drinks to find out more about key players’ priorities and activities in that industry.