Gold standard: Ardagh equips Au Vodka with ultra-glam metal can amid rising RTD cocktail demand

27 Jul 2022 --- Ardagh Metal Packaging and luxury vodka makers Au Vodka have co-designed a highly reflective, gold color metal can for the UK company’s award-winning Blue Raspberry vodka. 

The Blue Raspberry vodka is pre-mixed with quality sparkling soda to create a sweet and “electric blue” 5% ABV beverage – the company’s first Ready To Drink (RTD) beverage in a can.

“Au” is the symbol for gold in the periodic table. Au Vodka’s upscale branding is based on the rare element and its “associated qualities of power and perfection,” symbolizing the five-times-distilled British vodka at the heart of the company’s drinks.

The 330 ml slim can features simple, minimal text against the abundant gold, with the classic periodic table “Au” square, complete with its atomic number, in “sizzling blue.”

Ethan Cooze, project manager at Au Vodka, comments: “We worked closely with Ardagh’s graphics department to create the concept, followed by a site visit to finalize the finer details. After approving the sample, we had an insightful tour behind the scenes to see how the cans are manufactured. I look forward to working with Ardagh further as we make our next moves in the exciting RTD market.”RTDs in metal cans are increasingly popular with consumers for their lightness and quick chilling properties.

Those summer nights
The new can has been released to the market in time for summer parties. With their convenience, lightness, ease of recycling and quick chilling properties, canned RTDs are an increasingly popular choice for outdoor consumption, notes Ardagh.

According to Innova Market Insights, metal is the third most popular beverage packaging material for UK consumers (9%), behind glass (47%) and plastic (12%).

The Blue Raspberry can is designed to appeal not only to 18-35-year-olds who enjoy casual drinking events with friends but also a wider range of consumers “flexing their glamorous side at festivals and parties.”

Dirk Schwung, sales director at Ardagh Metal Packaging – Europe, adds: “This is an incredibly eye-catching pack, with a brilliantly bold selection from our range of Coloured Shells and Tabs that shows off the product to the maximum. We’re really pleased to have helped Au Vodka showcase their new drink so fittingly as they expand into sustainable metal beverage cans.”

The Blue Raspberry cans are available now from Au Vodka’s e-commerce site and across the UK wholesale and convenience sector.

Ardagh in the news
In June, Ardagh Metal Packaging expanded its production facility at La Ciotat, France. The new expenditure, supported by Bpifrance and Sud Attractivité, is a response to increased demand for beverage cans from a diverse mix of new and existing customers for long-term partnerships in the regions of Southwestern Europe and Middle East Africa.

At the start of the year, the company launched H!ghend, a “transformative” addition to its customization range of beverage cans, offering customers brand-enhancing opportunities. The H!ghend innovation series adds extra value to the top of the can by making this area of the pack available for branding.

By Joshua Poole