Why Left Hand Believes Its New Nitro Release Will Drink Best in Glass
Level Up Your To-Go Beers with the New Revolutionary Drinktainer
This is a paid, sponsored post presented by our friends at O-I Glass.
Why do breweries believe that it’s easier to launch beer in cans? O-I, the creator of one of the most innovative glass bottles on the market, Drinktainer, wants to challenge this question.
“I think historically, we have let the industry think it’s too hard to launch glass,” says Alexis Guetzlaff, Director of Marketing, Beer and NAB at O-I. “Well, why? We have more shapes that are readily available [in glass]. Why is that the perception that cans are easier?”
Or more successful?
Several years ago, we reported that the country’s number-one-selling IPA at the time—New Belgium Voodoo Ranger Imperial IPA—actually sold best in 6-pack 12-oz glass bottles.
And Left Hand’s best SKU?
Its Milk Stout Nitro is in….you guessed it, 6-pack 12-oz glass bottles. In fact, that’s why the Colorado-based brewery purposefully chose to release its newest SKU, Belgian White Nitro, in glass bottles.
And now, O-I’s Craft Beer Program is making it easier than ever for craft breweries to get the glass bottle they want sent to them no matter where they are in the country.
O-I’s Craft Beer Program Shatters Misconceptions of Glass Bottles
Guetzlaff believes that the story of glass in the craft beer industry has overlooked a straightforward narrative.
Traditionally, beverage companies have relied on customized designs (think a skull or a Buddha mold) for glass. Understandably, these intricate models take time to craft, test, develop, and implement.
For that reason, Guetzlaff points out that most folks have forgotten that companies like O-I constantly run glass stock products (standard 12-oz bottles, for example).
“We have all these models that people need, especially for beer … that work well for the category, and they’re all ready to run,” says Guetzlaff. “We run them all day, every day.”
When we asked Guetzlaff to clarify just how long it takes O-I to ship out its glass bottles, we expected an answer of around one to two weeks.
They shattered that completely!
Guetzlaff clarifies that, depending on where you are in the country, O-I can most likely ship their highest-running glass bottle sizes to you in around seventy-two hours. 🤯
Thanks to its Craft Beer Program, O-I stocks its higher-volume beer bottles with standard pricing on both the East and West Coasts. This allows them to quickly quote and service smaller craft customers and makes it easier to launch in glass.
“Stocks are on the floor, ready to order, and with a low minimum,” she adds. “You can order from us in a very small quantity, and it doesn’t have to be a proprietary bottle for you to get the benefits of glass.”
Today, on a shelf more crowded than ever, “How do we shake things up? What are the ways to reengage with the consumer?” asks Guetzlaff. “Glass packaging can really be an option for a lot of people who didn’t think it was an option for them.”
The TL:DR?
“If you want to launch a beer in glass, you can do it!” says Guetzlaff.
And while O-I has time-tested beer bottles running in high-capacity breweries across the U.S…
They also have some incredible innovations dropping into the market.
Such as the Slim Stubby.
Say Hello to the Slim Stubby?
First introduced in 1936, the Coors Banquet stubby bottle has become arguably one of the most iconic glass bottle shapes. However, the craft beer industry seems to have primarily avoided adopting this nostalgic shape.
Until now.
O-I took this classic shape and made it readily available for the craft beer industry with all the bells, whistles, and benefits.
Efficiency
“The Slim Stubby looked at the existing 12-ounce long neck traditional beer shape and size and then said, Okay, how could this keep the runability on the fill line that you have with a traditional long neck and then add in some lighter weight, or takeaway weight, and make it more cubically efficient?” says Guetzlaff.
First and foremost, the Slim Stubby is a more efficient shape “but keeps the diameter of a 12-ounce long neck that runs on anyone’s line—standard width or diameter—so you get fourteen percent less weight versus a traditional 12-ounce long neck,” explains Guetzlaff.
The smaller, more efficient shape means you can fit more while shipping. According to Guetzlaff, “You can basically fit ten percent more on a pallet and truck.”
She calls this better “cubic efficiency.” And when you’re filling a truck, “this Slim Stubby will cube out better,” she says. “When you can make a bottle more cubically efficient, you’ll save on all those things.”
Less weight also means savings on shipping and freight. “Anytime we take out weight, that’s a big win for glass and everyone,” says Guetzlaff.
Including the planet.
Sustainability
“When you ship something with fourteen percent less weight, you can fit more on a truck,” explains Guetzlaff. “Anytime you reduce weight, you reduce carbon emissions.”
A smaller footprint certainly means a lot to companies today who prioritize sustainability.
Label and Shelf Space
The “downstream benefits,” as Guetzlaff called them, don’t stop there. The Slim Stubby also benefits retailers by saving space on the shelf.
“Hey, I’m reducing the amount of space you need for these 12- or 24-ounce bottles,” says Guetzlaff. “Anytime it’s dollars per space velocity measurement, that will be a much more compelling story to sell to a retailer than a traditional 12-ounce long neck.”
With the Slim Stubby’s squatty body, too, O-I ensures the label panel fills the entire side of the bottle. With the Slim Stubby, you can get top-to-bottom graphics, basically eighty percent of the height, and you don’t have to do separate labeling stations or work with neck labels.
The shape and enhanced area for graphics ensure that these Slim Stubbies carve out their own unique, eye-catching space.
“It really does pop off the shelf into something more interesting for consumers to sell and hold,” says Guetzlaff.
Low Minimums
One barrier to entry for any packaging format can be the high order minimums, which can be unpalatable (get it?) to smaller craft breweries.
However, for the Slim Stubby, “The order quantities are two pallets [for pickups], which is, I think, very historically low for us,” says Guetzlaff.
Easy to Order and Fast Order Lead Times
The best part? As we mentioned, depending on exactly where you are in the country, you can get this nostalgic glass bottle shipped out or picked up within seventy-two hours.
“This is new to the market. … It will be fully ready to go by the end of the year,” explains Guetzlaff. “Once we do a run in the next couple of months, it will be ready to go and inventoried on both coasts, close to wherever anybody is, and we’ll be able to ship them in seventy-two hours at a reasonable price.”
With all these benefits, the Slim Stubby is poised to be the hottest glass bottle on the market next year.
But you don’t have to take our word for it.
Put Your Foot on the Gas for Glass
With standard glass bottles, the Drinktainer, and now the Slim Stubby in its arsenal, O-I has some exciting packaging options for breweries to truly stand out on the shelf.
“You can get into it in all of these standard sizes, which are the most common sizes and easy to run, and also these other great innovations like the Slim Stubby,” says Guetzlaff, noting that the bottom line is, “Glass is not hard to get into!”
