Large 75cl glass bottle gives cider standout

Glass packaging from Owens-Illinois (O-I) is helping Indiana-based Oliver Winery differentiate its BeanBlossom Hard Cider in an increasingly competitive category. The winery has relaunched the cider in a shareable 75cl glass bottle. According to owner Bill Oliver, the large glass format gives the BeanBlossom brand a premium image and enables consumers to fully appreciate its flavour.

Founded in the 1972, the winery is one of the largest in the Eastern United States. It branched out to cider in the mid-1980s and, until recently, distributed its BeanBlossom Hard Cider in single-serve aluminum containers.

“We’ve always thought that our expertise in wine made expanding into cider a natural fit,” Oliver says. “Both processes are about protecting the integrity of precious fruits while bringing out their unique tastes. That is also why we decided on glass as we were refreshing the BeanBlossom brand. We wanted the packaging to reflect the art and craft of what we do, while ensuring that the flavour of our cider is preserved and protected. Glass does that with beauty and clarity.”

The 75cl glass bottle helps BeanBlossom stand out from other mainstream hard ciders sold in single-serve multi-packs by creating a shareable, sensory experience similar to wine.

“When you sit down with a friend and pour a glass of BeanBlossom Hard Cider from our 75cl bottle, you’re able to enjoy the product in a way that you don’t necessarily get when you drink directly from a single-serve container,” he says. “The experience is more like drinking wine – you get to appreciate the colour and aroma of the cider, which enriches the taste.”

The new glass packaging also gave Oliver Winery a chance to enhance BeanBlossom’s branding and artwork, created through a longstanding partnership with Bloomington, Ind., artist Kevin Pope. Pope’s work on the brand features fictional characters evoking the culture of nearby Beanblossom, Ind. The many decoration and label options possible with glass freed Pope to add depth and texture to the artwork in ways that he couldn’t achieve on aluminum.

“The relaunch of BeanBlossom Hard Cider in glass afforded me the opportunity to give the iconic imagery and unique characters new life in a way that reflects the nostalgic feel of the cider's labels, the bottles and of course the product itself,” Pope said. “It was a truly wonderful project to work on, from the initial brainstorming, the sketches and the revisions, to the final splash of paint on the original label art.”

BeanBlossom Hard Cider is available in original and peach varieties, and can be found in 22 states and growing throughout the Midwestern and Eastern US. The new glass packaging started rolling out this spring and will continue to show up on store shelves throughout the summer. It is also available for purchase to residents of certain states on Oliver Winery’s website, www.oliverwinery.com.

26 August 2014 - Felicity Murray The Drinks Report, editor