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Article by Nampak 1 November 2011

Nampak uses breadth to deliver award-winning packaging for SAB

Through their flagship brand Castle Lager, South African Breweries (SAB, [Status]), are the premier sponsors of the South African soccer team (Bafana Bafana, [Status]). When the brewery giant needed something special for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and subsequent sporting events, they turned to packaging partner Nampak. The brief was “simple” – for Castle Lager, design innovative and high functioning packaging, with both tourist and local appeal, which has souvenir/novelty pack qualities and can also be used as a gift pack.
In the joint project with SAB, Nampak’s 2011 Gold Pack award-winning answer was to produce a custom designed, three-aluminium bottle gift pack for Castle Lager. Due to the fact that this is South Africa’s first aluminium beer bottle, not to mention the uncanny colouring resemblance to a certain Marvel Comics superhero, the project was dubbed Project Ironman.
For Nampak, Project Ironman demonstrates the true essence of a total packaging solution, as the construction of the pack is a collaborative effort between three diverse Nampak divisions. The pack is also made up of three distinct packaging types, each with a specific function to perform.
At the heart of it all is the aluminium bottle, which in itself is a first, as beer is now available in an entirely new substrate and is the first aluminium beverage bottle ever made in South Africa. The aluminium bottle boasts an exceptional print register which fares better than paper labels in the rigours of the cold supply chain. The aluminium bottle also offers a wide range of decorating options and finishes, including metallic base coats, over varnishes, shine (gloss, [Status]), and matt. For packing, storing, protecting and transporting the inner cartons and bottles, a corrugated shipper box was produced. For convenience and shelf shout, there’s the lithographically printed display carton, which holds the aluminium bottles and displays them beautifully on shelf. The display carton also acts as an innovative and functional carry pack.
The Nampak DivFood plant in Durban produced the aluminium bottles, Nampak Corrugated supplied the corrugated boxes out of their Wadeville plant, and the gift pack cartons were produced by Nampak Cartons & Labels’ Denver plant.
The customised tripartite packaging is an effective way to solidify brand loyalty, whilst the new packaging format creates visual and tactile interest amongst consumers. Globally hailed as a marketing innovation, which has brought a new substrate to beer, Project Ironman has given Castle Lager a fresh new look – not to mention a prestigious packaging award for Nampak - and is a dynamic solution for a brand that is highly active in the sporting arena.
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