Transparent Labels for Craft Beer Bottles: Pros and Cons

If you sell a pilsner or a lager, you can probably see through your beer. Now you have the chance to see through its label, too. Transparent beverage labels have been making their way around the beer world for a couple of years, with the Heineken brand pulling a notable switcheroo and going with transparent labels on its bottles. Craft beer makers are weighing their options with the modern-looking labels now, too.

What’s good and not so good about transparent labels? Are there any obvious benefits or potential shortcomings? This is what we turn an eye to below, looking at some of the basic pros and cons of transparent labels for craft beer and beer bottles in general.

If you have nice Irish red ale with a medium body, a transparent label will help you show off the reddish-amber hue. Also, triple pilsners have a hazy, blonde hue that seems to catch sunbeams, so they’re nice to show off, as well. Basically, if your brew’s color is a part of its consumer appeal, a transparent label helps you showcase the characteristic.

Transparent labels look smooth and slick — and they are. Some of them have interesting parameters that curve in and out, snaking down the face of the bottle, creating ridge lines you need to run your fingers over to perceive.

These lines create weird sense of traction when you apply pressure, but it isn’t much. Most people would probably find it easier to hold a bottle that has a thick, cellulose-based label.

Remember those nervous bar goers you’ve seen peeling the labels off beers, as they take confidence in a friend or bartender? That’s not happening with transparent labels. The labels can form such a strong bond you practically need a razor edge scraper to remove them. This is a good thing as far as communicating your brand goes — and, thankfully, pubs don’t have razor edge scrapers laying around.

Going from an opaque label to a transparent label is a major aesthetic change. The bottle looks totally different; this can make some consumers second guess buying what was once a favorite beverage.

Branding research has shown how important product aesthetics are to our perception of brand quality, especially when the aesthetics have been in place for years. If you plan to switch to a transparent label, perform some marketing research, or maybe test with a seasonal brew.

If so, Flexo-Graphics has high-quality, attractive options that you choose from today. Transparent labeling is relatively new to the craft beer industry, making now a good time to consult with us to see if the labels are a good alternative for a particular drink or an entire line. Call us today at (262) 790-2740, or send us an email through our contact form, to reach out.