As a sealed packaging container made of metal (mainly aluminum or tinplate) as the substrate, cans have become an indispensable core category in the packaging industry since their popularity in the mid-20th century. With its multiple advantages of functionality, economy, and environmental friendliness, it deeply adapts to the needs of various fields such as food, beverages, and daily chemical products, and plays an irreplaceable role in product innovation, consumer experience upgrading, and sustainable development in the packaging industry. Its specific importance can be expanded to the following five dimensions:

1. Adapt to diverse scenarios and support the development of core consumer categories

The structural characteristics and performance advantages of cans make them a "standard packaging" for many high-frequency consumer categories, directly supporting the large-scale production and market expansion of related industries, and serving as a key carrier for the packaging industry to meet consumer demand.

• Core packaging choices in the beverage industry

  For carbonated beverages (such as cola, Sprite), energy drinks, beer, functional drinks, and other categories, the high sealing performance of the can (using double curling technology to completely isolate air, moisture, and light) can effectively lock in carbon dioxide, prevent flavor evaporation, and has strong pressure resistance (can withstand the internal pressure of carbonated beverages, avoiding can bursting), perfectly adapting to the storage and transportation needs of such products. Taking beer as an example, the light shielding properties of aluminum cans can prevent the "sunlight odor" caused by ultraviolet rays, and extend the shelf life by 3-6 months compared to glass bottles. At the same time, the lightweight characteristics (single can weight only 15-20g) reduce logistics costs and promote the "portable consumption" of beer (such as outdoor camping and sports scenes).

• The 'Safe Preservation Solution' for the Food Industry

  The high temperature sterilization resistance of cans (tin cans can withstand 121 ℃ high temperature sterilization, aluminum cans can withstand 100 ℃ pasteurization) makes them the core packaging for canned foods such as meat cans, fruit cans, and nut cans. By combining "sealing+sterilization", food can be stored for a long time without preservatives (with a shelf life of 1-2 years at room temperature). At the same time, metal materials have high chemical stability and will not undergo chemical reactions with food (such as acidic fruit cans not corroding the can wall), ensuring food safety. In addition, the "easy opening" (pull tab design) of the can solves the pain point of traditional glass bottle cans being difficult to open, enhances the consumer experience, and promotes the expansion of the ready to eat food market.

• Scenario based packaging supplement for niche categories

  In addition to mainstream categories, cans are also suitable for niche fields such as daily chemical products (such as solid ointments, small care sets), pet food (small-sized meat cans), and pharmaceuticals (some cream like topical preparations). For example, mini cans (50-100ml) have become the preferred choice for portable skincare products and trial drinks due to their "small capacity and easy portability" characteristics, meeting the demand for "small and experiential consumption" in the consumer market and opening up a segmented market for the packaging industry.

2. Promote the "efficiency revolution" in the packaging industry and adapt to large-scale production

The standardization and automation characteristics of cans deeply meet the production needs of the modern packaging industry for "efficiency, continuity, and scale", and are an important support for the packaging industry to improve production capacity and reduce costs.

• Highly adaptable to automated production lines

  The structure of cans is simple and standardized (with unified industry standards for diameter, height, and edge size), and can be seamlessly integrated with canning equipment, filling equipment, and labeling equipment - to metal coil to forming (punching and stretching, edge rolling), filling, sealing, and labeling, the entire production line can achieve fully automated operation (with a production capacity of 600-1200 cans per minute), far higher than the production efficiency of glass bottles (300-500 bottles per minute) and plastic bottles (400-800 bottles per minute). This efficiency directly supports the "mass production" of beverage and food enterprises (such as large beverage factories with a daily production capacity of millions of cans), promoting the upgrading of the packaging industry to "manual/semi automated" to "fully automated".

• Reduce full chain costs and enhance industry economy

• Production end: The raw materials for cans (aluminum coils, tinplate coils) can be purchased in bulk, and the can making process is mature with a low scrap rate (only 2% -3%). The unit production cost is lower than that of glass bottles of the same specifications (glass bottle production requires melting glass, which consumes high energy and has a scrap rate of 5% -8%).

• Logistics end: Aluminum cans are lightweight (with the same capacity, aluminum cans weigh only 1/10 of glass bottles) and can be stacked tightly (without the risk of fragility and the need for additional cushioning packaging), reducing logistics transportation costs by 40% -60% compared to glass bottles; Although tinplate cans are slightly heavier, they have strong compressive strength and higher storage stacking height, which can improve warehouse utilization.

• Consumer end: The "disposable" feature of cans (no need for recycling and cleaning) reduces the operating costs of retail terminals (such as convenience stores not requiring glass bottle recycling equipment). At the same time, the pull ring design reduces the dependence on can opening tools, improves consumer convenience, indirectly promotes product sales growth, and forms a positive cycle of "packaging consumption".

3. Leading the "sustainable development" of the packaging industry and aligning with environmental trends

Against the backdrop of the global "dual carbon" goal and the upgrading of environmental consumption concepts, the high recyclability and low environmental impact of cans have become an important benchmark for the packaging industry to practice sustainable development, promoting the industry's transformation to "disposable packaging" to "circular packaging".

• The "high recovery rate and recycling value" of metal materials

  The core materials of aluminum and tin cans are metals that can be infinitely recycled, and the energy consumption for recycling is much lower than that of producing raw materials

• Aluminum: The global average recycling rate of aluminum cans is over 70% (with some countries such as the United States and Japan exceeding 90%). Recycling 1 ton of scrap aluminum can save 95% of the energy consumption in primary aluminum production (primary aluminum production requires electrolytic aluminum, which consumes a lot of energy; recycled aluminum only needs to be melted, which greatly reduces energy consumption), while reducing carbon dioxide emissions by over 90%.

• Tinplate (tin plated steel plate): The recovery rate is over 85%, and it can be re rolled into steel plate after recycling. The metal properties are almost not lost during the recycling process, and the tin plating layer can be recovered synchronously to avoid heavy metal pollution.

• This "high recycling, low energy consumption" characteristic makes it a shape of "circular economy" in the packaging industry. Compared with plastic bottles (with a global recycling rate of only about 10% and reduced performance of recycled plastics, mostly "downgraded recycling") and glass bottles (which require repeated cleaning and high energy and water consumption for recycling), it has significant environmental advantages.

• Promote 'reduced design' in the packaging industry

  With the upgrading of technology, the trend of "reduction" of aluminum cans is evident: in the past 20 years, the thickness of aluminum cans has been reduced to 0.3mm to below 0.2mm, and the weight of a single can has been reduced by about 30% (such as 330ml aluminum cans to 25g to 17g). The thickness of the can body of tin cans has also been reduced to 0.25mm to 0.18mm, achieving "raw material reduction" while ensuring strength, reducing resource consumption and waste generation. This reduction design provides the packaging industry with a development direction of "lightweight and low consumption", which is in line with the global policy requirements of "low-carbon packaging" (such as the weight restrictions on packaging in the EU's "Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive").

4. Optimize consumer experience and drive "user oriented innovation" in the packaging industry

The design innovation of soda cans always revolves around "consumer demand", upgrading to functionality to appearance, not only enhancing user experience, but also promoting the packaging industry's transformation to "single protection function" to "function+experience+marketing" with diverse values.

• Functional Innovation: Addressing Consumer Pain Points

• Easy to open design: In the early days, can openers were needed for cans. After the introduction of the "pull tab can" in 1963, the problem of "difficult to open the can" was completely solved; Nowadays, some cans use "safety pull rings" (the pull rings do not fall off after opening, avoiding accidental ingestion or environmental pollution) and "press to open" (suitable for children and the elderly), further optimizing the convenience of use.

• Portability and sealing upgrade: For outdoor scenes, we have launched the "easy to pull can with straw hole" (which can be inserted into the straw without opening the pull tab to avoid liquid splashing); In response to multiple drinking needs, we have developed a "reusable sealed can" (with a pull ring that can rotate and close after opening to maintain sealing and solve the problem of "easy contamination" of traditional cans after opening).

• Appearance Innovation: Empowering Brand Marketing

  The metal surface of the can can can be printed using various printing techniques such as offset printing, screen printing, hot stamping, and relief. It has bright colors and strong adhesion, and can accurately present brand logos, patterns, and marketing information, becoming a "visual carrier" for communication between brands and consumers. For example, holiday limited edition cans (such as Spring Festival and World Cup themes) and co branded cans (such as anime and film IP co branding) attract consumers to purchase and enhance product added value through their exterior design; Some brands have also launched "personalized customized cans" (such as printing consumer names and blessings) to meet the demand for "emotional consumption". This "packaging is marketing" shape is driving the packaging industry to shift to a "cost center" to a "value center".

5. Stabilize the supply chain and ensure the "risk resistance capability" of the packaging industry

The supply of raw materials for cans is stable, the production process is mature, and it is compatible with the global supply chain system. In extreme environments such as epidemics and logistics disruptions, it can ensure the continuity of packaging supply and enhance the packaging industry's ability to resist risks.

• Stable supply of raw materials

  Aluminum and tinplate are both global commodities with mature supply chains (aluminum mainly comes to countries such as Australia and Guinea, while tinplate comes to China, Japan, Germany, etc.), and sufficient reserves, making it less likely for raw material shortages to occur due to supply disruptions in a single region; Compared to plastics (which rely heavily on oil and are greatly affected by fluctuations in international oil prices) and glass (which rely on quartz sand and are limited by geographical production), the stability of raw material supply is stronger.

• Adapt to global logistics and distribution

  The pressure resistance and impact resistance of cans make them less likely to be damaged during long-distance transportation (such as sea and land transportation), and do not require complex cushioning packaging, making them suitable for global distribution (such as cross-border beverage brands' products being transported in bulk by containers to various parts of the world). During the epidemic, many food and beverage companies relied on canned packaging to ensure the normal supply of their products (such as canned food, which has become an important component of emergency supplies due to its long shelf life and easy transportation), reflecting its stabilizing role in the supply chain and enhancing the packaging industry's ability to respond to sudden risks.