Drinktec 2022: Crown reinforces recycling commitment and showcases new decorations for metal cans

15 Sep 2022 --- Recyclability is taking center stage at Crown’s Drinktec 2022 booth in Munich, Germany. We sit down with Veronique Curulla, marketing and business development director at Crown EMEA, to explore how the company is supporting the circular economy for aluminum cans and boosting brand-consumer engagement with new decorative techniques and connective technologies. 

Aligned with its Twentyby30 program, Crown has set ambitious 2030 global recycling goals, including striving to reach 80% in the EMEA countries in which it operates, 70% in the US and maintaining over 97% in Brazil.

“Twentyby30 is the new sustainability program Crown put in place last year. As the name suggests, its 20 goals to achieve by 2030, and those twenty goals are split into five pillars: climate action, resource efficiency, optimum circularity, working together and never compromising,” Curulla tells PackagingInsights.

Every Can Counts
Crown works closely with industry partners around the world to realize these circularity goals. Increasing recycling rates will ultimately boost recycled content and lower the carbon footprint of aluminum cans.

Veronique Curulla, marketing and business development director at Crown EMEA.“While the aluminum beverage can is already the world’s most responsible beverage package – boasting the highest recycling rate, the greatest percentage of infinitely recyclable content and the most value of any substrate – our new global recycling targets will help propel the industry to the highest rates possible,” adds Curulla.

An Every Can Counts survey found that most Europeans recycle at home (93%) but would do so more frequently in public spaces if the recycling infrastructure was more accessible (93%).

Decorative differentiation
In addition to highlighting environmental sustainability initiatives, Crown’s portfolio of decorative finishes is on display, providing beverage producers with greater differentiation at the point-of-sale.

“Decoration is key,” says Curulla. “This is one way our customers can differentiate their brands and stand out on shelf. We have a different range of finishes, for example, we can add a sparkle varnish to give a glittery aspect to the can or change the texture with inks that give a tactile feeling.”Crown presents its latest decorative techniques, including tactile finishes and thermochromic ink.

With promotional marketing returning to stores, beverage brands can enhance engagement through bold can designs and interactive experiences, using, for example, temperature and light-sensitive inks from Crown.

Visitors can also interact with innovations such as Crown’s Accents variable printing technology, which allows up to 24 different designs to be printed in a single run, empowering brands to create a series of collectible cans and attract consumer attention via its non-uniform visual effect.

New digital connections
The beverage can leader is also showcasing its printable QR code technology, known as CrownConnect. The technology enables the company to print a QR code underneath the beverage tab, representing a first for the industry in driving new brand-consumer engagement through, for example, reward programs and increased transparency.

“With these QR codes, our customers can obtain traceability information to understand what consumers drink and when and how. We offer a huge variety of options that can be enriched with such a code. We are the only supplier able to print these codes under the tab,” explains Curulla.Crown combines circularity with decorative enhancements.

“This technology has been launched in Europe but not yet in Asia or the US. The demand from consumers around traceability, including where the product comes from, is very high in Europe compared to other regions.”

Meanwhile, Crown has been able to connect with its own customers in person for the first time in over two years following the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Everyone is very happy to be here at Drinktec and our customers are very happy to see us. We have made great improvements with all our tools like Teams, but it can never replace face-to-face meetings with customers,” she adds.

By Joshua Poole