Xmas & Limited Edition Spirits Packaging: When To Get Started And How To Ensure Success
Sales of Xmas and limited edition spirits contribute a larger portion of revenue for distilleries each year. Timely planning and the right design ensure your brand captures their maximum earning potential.
As limited edition and Xmas gift sets grow in popularity each year, creating eye-catching spirits packaging is crucial to any distillery’s holiday sales plan. Take a moment to consider these recent statistics:
Spirits are the #1 alcoholic beverage for gifting.
In the UK, 52% of adults gifted someone alcohol in 2022.
Alcohol is the most popular received item among corporate gifts.
Sales of limited edition spirits increased by 171% from 2020-2021 and continue to climb.
Spirits show no sign of losing favour as a top go-to for gifting in 2023. So how can distilleries tap into this trend? Read on to see what your brand needs to do to succeed.
Photo by Maria das Dores on Unsplash
When To Get Started With Limited Edition Packaging: A Timeline
It always pays to be prepared for seasonal sales well in advance. As a general rule, getting your packaging squared away two months prior to the target sales period is a good policy.
However, demand for packaging skyrockets during the months leading up to the holidays. Plus, you’ll want to have your special edition products on the shelves at the start of the holiday shopping season—and that begins late October – early November.
Initial strategizing and design must begin even earlier, pushing preparations as early as summer. Here’s a quick cheat sheet on typical holiday packaging deadlines:
Begin holiday packaging design process: Late July – Early August
Finalise holiday packaging design: Late August – Mid September
Place holiday packaging orders: Mid September – Early October (at the latest)!
Get holiday products on retail shelves: Late October – Early November
Remember that by the time suppliers receive your order, common spirits packaging components will take anywhere from 1 to nearly 4 weeks to be produced.
Stickers/labels: 10 days
Floor displays: 15 days
Corrugated boxes: 20-25 days
Folding boxes: 20-25 days
For these reasons, distilleries should aim to finalise designs for limited edition packaging two months ahead of time, and Xmas packaging three months before the holidays.
Considering Purchasing Motives & Sales Objections
As with all distillery packaging, your limited editions should ultimately be tailored to appeal to your market. However, your typical buyer may be influenced to buy or object by different factors around the holidays.
Cost
Recent data confirms the obvious: price is the #1 purchasing factor when it comes to food/beverage gift-giving. As another holiday season is impacted by inflation, distilleries will need to hone in on buyer personas with extra scrutiny while considering:
Consumer budget ranges. Is it wide enough to justify offering both value and premium options?
Quantities. Is it worth offsetting printing/packaging costs by ordering larger quantities—or will it result in packaging surplus and excess expenditure?
Consumer trends
Knowing your target market is vital; but the holidays make it imperative to design for not only the buyer, but also the receiver. For this reason, brands need to think beyond their usual customer profile and consider trends throughout the industry.
Premiumisation. Consumers are drinking less, but better. And while inflation has led many to curb costs by going out less, most shoppers are willing to spend more on higher-quality spirits. In fact, 33% of US drinkers reported spending more than $50 on a bottle of liquor in 2022, a 9% increase from 2021.
Health & wellness. Higher quality isn’t only about premiumisation. No/low alcohol sales have grown substantially over the past few years, meaning your distillery should think outside the traditional spirits bottle. Branded mixers, glassware, and shakers are all non-alcoholic gifts that everyone loves.
Sustainability
Recent research shows that almost half (48%) of US drinkers are positively influenced towards purchase by a brand’s sustainability efforts. Among the top detractors were single use plastic such as cling wrap and can rings.
Eco-friendly packaging needs to be balanced with consumer expectations and your distillery’s budget. Green practises which are financially feasible, impactful on consumers, and aesthetically pleasing can add significant value to your holiday spirits packaging.
Choosing The Right Type Of Special Edition Spirits Packaging
Holiday and limited edition sets have come a long way since their inception. Today, consumers can find numerous unique ways to gift spirits—giving distillers a range of product options to choose from.
Logo glassware sets
Branded shot glasses, tumblers, or rocks glasses paired with a limited edition bottle can provide distilleries with a great value option for lower-income consumers.
The CoLab design team had almost as much fun producing glassware gift sets for Ahascragh Distillery and Sailor’s Home as they did sampling these labels’ top-notch spirits.
Mixers & cocktail/mocktail accessories
Increased home consumption, premiumisation, and the growing popularity of low/no alcohol drinks make mixer and accessory sets a fantastic way for spirits brands to widen their market.
Runamok proves that non-alcoholic gift set can be just as sophisticated as traditional spirits boxes while nailing the holiday aesthetic without a trace of red and green.
Gift boxes
There’s a reason the classic spirits gift box is still an industry go-to: it can be customised to appeal to a range of budgets and is typically straightforward when it comes to production.
Pommery’s limited edition Mandala Box sets grab the right attention on shelf and as a collectible.
Hampers & bundles
Bigger and more complex than gift boxes, these gifting multipacks are a great way to utilise merchandise, team up with other brands to sell higher value products, or offer buyers a variety of blends.
The Four Roses Ten Recipe Tasting Experience keeps it plain and simple with monochrome textured secondary packaging. But inside, this gift bundle includes a signature of Master Distiller Brent Elliot plus a guided video tour that customers can access via QR code.
Advent calendars
In recent years, advent calendars have become a way for adults to join in on the holiday countdown. The spirits industry has taken notice, with dozens of labels putting their own spin on this ultimate gifting experience.
Jack Daniel’s kept it simple with their Holiday Countdown Calendar, but there’s one detail that really stands out—the carrying handle! It’s a testament to the label’s successful balancing of aesthetics and practicality.
Designing Limited/Holiday Edition Spirits Packaging
Thinking outside your brand’s ‘normal’ aesthetic can be the most challenging part of designing limited edition packaging. Here are some ideas to get the creative juices flowing.
Brand identity
Limited and holiday editions of your spirits provide a unique opportunity to attract first-time customers: 81% of consumers claim they have bought a new product based on its packaging. However, 52% of consumers have switched brands due to a change in packaging.
So how can distilleries create a bold, refreshed look that appeals to new audiences without alienating their current devotees?
Keep logo and brand name font largely unchanged.
Experiment with colours, shapes, and typography, with cohesiveness to branding.
Take risks with textures, materials, and other design elements.
Cherry blossoms and Scottish Whiskey don’t seem to have much in common at first glance. Yet the lightbulb moment is instantaneous thanks to Glenfiddich’s gorgeous themed packaging for its Limited Edition Grand Yosakura Aged 29 Years Single Malt Scottish Whiskey.
Colour
When you compete in an oversaturated market where 75% purchasing decisions are made at the point of sale, shelf differentiation should be the #1 goal of your product packaging. And as the most effective attention-getter, colour will be a major player in any special edition packaging.
But choosing the right shade is much more complex than adding in some bright hues. Avoid making these common colour faux pas.
Not thinking beyond traditional holiday palettes. Neutrals, icy blues, and jewel tones help you stand out from the crowd while still conveying a spirit of celebration.
Assuming more colour equals more attention. Minimalistic and monochrome packaging add a layer of exclusivity and sophistication that works perfectly for limited editions.
Doing a complete 180° from your brand colours. Totally different colours, shades and tones that don’t jive with your original label will confuse consumers and look sloppy.
Chopin Vodka + Vera Wang and Rammstein Rum prove that monochrome and minimalistic design are anything but boring.
Shape
According to recent research, the shape of spirits packaging is just as influential on purchasing decisions as colour is among young people. As consumers under 35 are the most likely to buy food/drink items as a gift, shape should be an important factor in packaging design.
Rick Thng, sales manager at Imprezziv, a supplier based out of Oakland, CA notes that recent trends in spirits gift packaging have put more emphasis on shapes and forms rather than graphics. He notes that novel-shaped designs such as ovals and pyramids have been requested much more compared to previous years.
But before you consider that Christmas tree bottle, consider these crucial factors.
Primary packaging: is its shape feasible with the box/outer packaging it will be placed into?
Secondary packaging: will its shape make shipping and stockist display a challenge?
PATRÓN EN LALIQUE SERIE 2 is as close to perfection in spirits packaging as you’ll come. A sliding panel reveals a gorgeous, polyhedral bottle akin closer to a ‘magical elixir’ rather than premium tequila.
Textures & materials
Effective packaging is one that appeals to a variety of senses, including touch. If it persuades shoppers to reach out and handle the bottle or box it should be seen as a valuable design asset.
Here are a few ways you can use textures and materials to pique consumer curiosity.
Die cuts
This technique of purposely adding cutout patterns to a label or box creates a layered, 3D effect. It’s ideal for adding an element of playfulness, working well with holiday editions.
Foil stamping
A popular staple of spirits packaging, foil stamping can instantly add a touch of extra elegance to labels and gift boxes with a metallic finish.
Engraving/etching
Adding texture directly to spirits bottles and branded glassware makes such an impressive statement that it requires few other design elements. Use it as a standalone pattern or as a way to display dates or symbols important to your distillery.
Embossing/debossing
Using embossing (raised surfaces) and debossing (depressed surfaces) is another way to add dimension to both your primary and secondary packaging. Using this technique with a combination of glossy and matte finishes is a cost effective way to up your luxury factor.
Silkscreen printing
Sometimes less is more. One easy way to achieve a sleek, minimalistic look on your primary packaging is by skipping the label altogether and printing right onto the glass. Silkscreen printing can add both colour and texture minus any paper elements to your bottles
HIBIKI Suntory Whiskey aged 21 years and Angel’s Envy Ice Cider Cask showcase the powerful effects of engraving, silkscreen printing, and foil stamping on limited edition spirits packaging.
Other design elements
Sometimes going the extra mile in spirits packaging design can pay off with exponentially better sales. Here are some trendy ‘extras’ that have proved effective in limited edition spirits.
Customised artwork/typography
Some spirits brands’ most memorable packaging has been created by people with zero experience in packaging or spirits. Artist-commissioned graphics, patterns, and typography can add a one-of-a-kind essence to your product that few design teams can replicate.
When Greek Brandy label Metaxa wanted packaging design that both stood out while paying homage to its rich heritage, they enlisted the help of street artist Cacao Rocks to create this award-winning collector’s edition.
Touches of authenticity
To many givers and receivers of special edition spirits, the true value of the gift is the authenticity and limited quantity of the product. Batch numbers, distiller signatures, and other indicators of craftsmanship are small details that create memorable gifting experiences.
HIGH N’ WICKED left no stone unturned when it came to creating memorable packaging for its Single Barrel Cask Strength Aged 18 Years Whiskey. The gorgeous box features a stunning foil stamped seal along with barrel and bottle numbers. Though its most unique component is the personalised tasting notes written by the label’s Master Distiller.
Interactive labelling
Interactive brand experiences are another growing trend in the spirits industry. Batch information, behind-the-scenes looks at production processes, and cocktail recipes via a scannable QR code are just some of the ways distilleries are using special edition packaging to connect with consumers after purchase.
3 ‘Musts’ For Successful Xmas/Limited Edition Spirits Packaging
You’ve read about packaging deadlines, design elements, and industry trends. But don’t forget these big-picture rules for specialty packaging success.
Tell a story
Behind each distillery lies rich family history, strong bonds to the land, and quality ingredients—elements that create the perfect backdrop for a one-of-a-kind gift. Convey this effectively through packaging with imagery of maps, family seals, and founding dates.
Emphasise scarcity
The ultimate goal of specialty packaging is convincing buyers that there is intrinsic value in what your brand is selling—but only for the lucky few who purchase. Including production volumes and specific batch numbers allow your brand to do this without looking as if it’s trying too hard.
Design with the long run in mind
When consumers deliberate over purchasing your product, many consider what impression the box or bottle will give when displayed months or years to come. Does it possess the type of timeless appeal that never goes out of style? Keep this in mind during the entire design process.
Sell More Special Edition Packaging With CoLab
Your distillery products deserve packaging that reflects the same top-notch quality that you put into producing them. You bring us your vision, we deliver better sales.
Stand out on the shelf with award-winning packaging design
Awards are great—but they only matter when paired with a boost in sales. Top-notch design and extensive experience of the industry allow us to deliver real results to leading Irish distilleries.
Print exactly what you need without minimum quantities
Limited and holiday editions means smaller batches of more SKUs, plus plenty of test runs. We allow you to print off only what you need—saving you precious time and money.
Get an eco-friendly brand update that’s kind to your budget
Going green doesn’t have to mean going into debt for your distillery. We customise the latest sustainable practices to your business and market that make an impression that drives results.
Now Is The Time To Design Holiday 2023 Spirits Packaging
The industry is getting ready for its most crucial sales period of the year—will you be ready?
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