Imagine walking into the liquor store on a Friday night. You look past the brews you’ve already tried for something new. You spot a silver and gold capsule of a can, with a strange goggled figure on the label. The copy tells you this beer was formulated to fuel your journey through the multiverse, and it contains a sci-fi album as the soundtrack. To get the album, there’s a special hashtag. By tweeting it, you’ll receive a message telling you what you’re doing right now in a parallel reality, and a link to the music. Curiosity piqued, you bring it home, crack it open, take out your phone, and experience audio, visual, touch and taste in a single moment in time.
The T.R.I.P. album release beer is the first time a new studio album has ever been released on a beer can. The challenge that prompted the unique project was to figure out how to get people buying new music again, while helping a small indie band reach new fans. The solution: Pair the band with a brewery and turn the beer aisle into the next record store. The Lights Out wrote an album about traveling through parallel realities, and Aeronaut Brewing Co. developed a beer to pair with the songs. “A lot of the same people who once walked the music store aisles every weekend are now going to the beer store at least that often, with the aim of discovering something new. Most beer decisions happen in front of the cold case. The opportunity for someone to discover a band there caught our curiosity,” says Adam Ritchie, owner of Adam Ritchie Brand Direction and guitarist for The Lights Out.
T.R.I.P. used design in a creative way to solve a decades-old music industry problem, give consumers a complete sensory experience with visual, touch and taste, and restore music fans’ physical relationship with new music. The campaign resulted in a new way for music to be discovered, generated international attention and caused the product to quickly sell out. “Adam’s team created a tremendous launch experience which completely transcended the ordinary and set a new standard for how these things should be done,” says Aeronaut Brewing Co. co-founder Ben Holmes. “It’s a game-changer that succeeded beyond our wildest expectations.”
The Mayr-Melnhof Group (MM) has acquired 100% of the shares in Eson Pac, based in Veddige, Sweden, from the majority shareholder Nalka Invest AB and the minority shareholders from family and management. With a total turnover of around EUR 48 million, Eson Pac develops, produces and sells high-quality secondary packaging solutions for the pharmaceutical industry. The company has three production sites in Sweden and one in Denmark, focusing on folding boxes, leaflets and labels. Eson Pac currently employs around 300 people. "With this acquisition, we are strengthening our presence within the premium segment of the packaging division. The transaction ideally complements our current customer base and offers attractive new opportunities. In combination with our existing activities, we can offer our customers even more innovative and sustainable solutions. We are very confident that together with the highly qualified team from Eson Pac, we will successfully advance the joint growth course", commented MM CEO Peter Oswald.
Regulations and consumer demand are accelerating the shift to recyclable and compostable fiber packaging.
Manufacturers are adopting advanced software, IoT, and cloud systems to optimize production and reduce waste.
New solutions include molded fiber formats, recyclable coatings, direct food contact inks, and high-performance renewable boards.
Net sales in the second quarter were $3,109 million compared to $3,510 million in the second quarter of 2022 reflecting higher beverage can volumes in Americas Beverage and favorable foreign currency translation of $11 million, offset by the pass through of $288 million in lower material costs and lower volumes across most other businesses. Income from operations was $367 million in the second quarter compared to $466 million in the second quarter of 2022, which included a gain of $113 million for the sale of the Transit Packaging segment's Kiwiplan business. Segment income in the second quarter of 2023 was $414 million compared to $432 million in the prior year second quarter as benefits from the contractual recovery of prior years' inflationary cost increases in European Beverage and cost reduction initiatives in Transit Packaging were offset by lower volumes.
