6 Ways to Boost Your Brew Labels in a Challenging Landscape

It’s no secret that the last several years have brought about many challenges to breweries, large and small. For the last decade or more, there was rapid growth in the craft brew industry, but between a worldwide pandemic, a tightening economy, and more and more market share being engulfed by beer alternatives, many brewers have felt the squeeze since 2020.

The good news is that the burgeoning of the hard seltzer industry has tapered off, COVID-19 is not as inhibitive to people’s routines as it was, and breweries have adapted to supply chain woes and climate concerns to find domestic sources and high-tech solutions, according to Seven Fifty Daily.  Modest growth is expected to resume in the resilient industry, but if you want to get ahead, you’re going to need to set yourself apart. And in the craft brew industry, there is still no better way to do so than to boost your brew labels.

At Inovar Packaging Group, we partner regularly with craft breweries, and we have tons of ways to create unique, high-quality labels that others just can’t compete with. Here are six options we offer to differentiate your libations.

Boost Your Brew Labels with Specialty Coatings

When you print with Inovar, we offer you a plethora of options when it comes to coatings for your labels. Of course, we have standard matte and gloss lamination and varnish, but how about selecting something to give your label a special spark? Boost your brew labels with selective UV varnish, and you can keep a matte look with an element of luster to highlight text or design elements. Another incredible coating option is a grit varnish. This finishing coat actually creates a three-dimensional textured effect that surpasses what even the most textured papers can do.

Hot Stamping for Brew Labels

Long a standard among wine and spirit brands, hot stamping is gaining in popularity among breweries across the country. This process uses a heated die to add metallic elements to your label. Hot stamping gives extra depth to metallic aspects on your label that a metallic paper or film can’t quite replicate. Because who said beer isn’t elegant?

Boost Your Brew Labels with Metallics

We have a vast number of ways to create metallic looks and boost your brew layers, so whether you want a subtle shine or to totally dazzle, you’re covered! We can achieve an innumerable variety of metallic colors, from classic golds and silvers, to indigos, magentas, and just about any other color you can imagine, by printing on metallic paper or film. We also offer cold foil options and hot stamping, as discussed above.

Metallic labels are incredibly popular among brewers of all sizes because they are an inexpensive way to help your label stand out. Whether on a glass bottle or a can, a metallic label can help you edge ahead of the competition.

Multi-Layers for Brew Labels

You probably associate multi-layer constructions like booklets and peel-back labels with over-the-counter pharmaceutical and industrial products. But we at Inovar Packaging Group are inviting you to get even more ingenious with your beer label design by using multi-layer labels to reach your customers on a deeper level.

So many craft breweries have incredible stories to tell and are working with amazing designers. Do you have a great brand story? How about using a peel-back label to tell it and create more meaningful customer engagement?

Textured Materials to Boost Your Brew Labels

We’ve got options to boost your brew labels. White linen and estate papers have long been popular among wine brands, they are gaining traction for many breweries who are poised to compete with wine as a beverage of choice. We offer a variety of linen/estate options here at Inovar, but our range of textured materials doesn’t stop there.

If your goal is to create a high-end look for your product, black vellum is a fantastic way to go. This thick material gives you a luxe look unlike any other. If none of that sounds unique enough to suit your brand, we offer wood grain material! This material is made of wood and comes in different finishes like birch and cherry. People love to touch, and if your label gives them something to reach out and feel, they may just want to hang on to it!

Brew Labels with Custom Die Cuts

Again, with so much creative thinking happening in the craft beer industry, we want to participate by complementing those special brews with some special labels. At Inovar, we are the masters of the die cut, and if you can imagine it, there’s a good chance we can do it. When every beer on the shelf has the same-sized rectangular label, imagine how yours will pop with a unique shape. And when we say custom, we mean custom: we can create special label shapes, elements cut out to show off your primary packaging, and more.

The look of a product’s label plays an integral role in determining whether it gets purchased or languishes on the shelf. In the craft brew industry, competition for outstanding label design is fierce. You need a partner who can boost your brew labels with superlative quality, unique features, decades of experience of working with breweries, plus the best customer service around. Let us send you a free sample packet so you can see our amazing work for yourself.