Creating award-winning luxury packaging

David Gates, CEO of BrewDog, will be speaking at the Drinks Forum at Packaging Innovations and Luxury Packaging London in September 2019

David Gates BrewDog

Packaging Innovations and Luxury Packaging London is set to return to Olympia on 11—12 September 2019, with a packed conference programme offering insights into the latest packaging concepts and design innovations. David Gates, CEO at BrewDog, who will be joining the Drinks Forum at the show, discusses the process involved in creating award-winning luxury packaging. 

Can you tell me a little bit about your brand, its history and why the company started? 

BrewDog was founded 11 years ago by James Watt and Martin Dickie with the mission to revolutionise the beer industry and have as many people as possible fall in love with amazing craft beer. Since then, it has been one of the fastest growing companies in the UK, year-on-year. The spirits part of the business was created about two years ago, with a mission to shake-up the spirits industry in much the same way as the beer industry.

How would you describe the current look and feel of your product’s packaging? Is there a particular target audience that it looks to attract? 

Our packaging seeks to be packed with attitude and storytelling. We aim to be bold, edgy and standout on the shelf, as we look to attract people with an independent mindset. 

How involved are you in the packaging design process? Are you hands on, or do you prefer to step back initially? 

We are a very small company, so I am very hands on, from writing the brief to reviewing and signing off final artwork.

What will you be talking about at Packaging Innovations? 

Together with our design partners, LOVE, we will be talking about partnerships, pace and storytelling. Our partnership with LOVE is quite unusual, as we have an agreement that has given the agency part equity in our business as well as cash payment. We think this gives us all a much closer and more invested relationship, enabling us to create design that will deliver stand out performance.

Are there any trends that you’ve noticed in drinks packaging lately that you would like to incorporate into future looks of your brand? 

We look to all areas of design for our inspiration. We probably look more to the street than other drinks companies for reference.

Finally, is there anything in the pipeline for the brand? What can we look forward to seeing from you in the near future? 

We will be launching a rum and a whisky later this year.

Registration is now open, so make sure you sign up for your free pass today. For further information, please visit the Packaging Innovations and Luxury Packaging London websites or contact the show team on +44 (0)20 8843 8800 or PackagingUK@easyfairs.com. 

2 August 2019