Drynks calls in heavyweights to support alcohol-free venture

Premium alcohol-free drinks company Drynks Unlimited has worked with leading specialist suppliers – glass packaging company Croxsons, and label manufacturers The Label Makers – to supply primary packaging for their Smashed range of 0% ABV ales, beers and ciders.

The Manchester-based startup has enjoyed a considerable run of success this year, having received funding for its Smashed range from an appearance on Dragon’s Den, overtaking established no- and low- alcohol products such as Peroni, San Miguel and Budweiser in terms of units sold in Booths supermarkets. Moreover, with consumers looking to drink less alcohol during the COVID-19 lockdown and beyond, a further opportunity has been created for alcohol-free brands to thrive as people focus more on their health and wellbeing.

For the packaging, Croxsons supplied the brewer with a complete range of amber, flint and green glass 330ml bottles, together with a larger 660ml bottle as a Smashed Lager sharing bottle (the latter of which is the first of its kind in the UK when it comes to alcohol-free lager). The bottles are topped with a stylish branded crown, also supplied by Croxsons.

Sporting a design by Leeds-based Fun Agency, The Label Makers produced label packaging across bottles and cans, ensuring that a common material specification that worked across different filling environments was used. The labels were then flexo printed to ensure maximum colour control and consistent branding between both formats.

Both the bottle and label packaging support the premium feel of the brand. Richard Clark, founder and managing director of Drynks Unlimited, commented: “It’s vital as a start-up to have the right team around you who can support your vision, and both Croxsons and The Labels Makers had the ability to do just that. We needed heavyweight reputable and personable suppliers with experience and they both delivered.”

Both Croxsons’ COO Tim Croxson, and The Label Makers’ managing director David Webster, jointly agreed that Drynks was an “inspiring and highly enthusiastic brand to work with, possessing all the hallmarks of a market leader in this category”.

8 July 2020 -