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Beverage packaging manufacturers and customers continue to navigate the changing trends of consumer drinking preferences, consumption power, and policy impacts across different geographies.
Can makers Crown Holdings and Ardagh Metal Packaging each saw a slight slump in the Americas in the third quarter but growth in Europe. In the Americas, numerous companies cited the following factors: Declining spending by Latino consumers and harsh seasonal weather in Brazil.
“After several quarters of above-market growth, including 10% in the third quarter of last year, Americas Beverage’s sales declined 5% in the quarter, resulting in a 15% decline in sales across Brazil and Mexico,” said Crown CEO Tim Donahue. However, Crown said October shipments were stronger.
Donahue said Crown has contractually passed on increased aluminum costs, which have increased 54% over the past 10 months. Crown’s absolute margins were not affected, he said.
Donahue struck a positive note about the resilience of beverage cans in harsh environments and believes production will increase in 2026. He said it was about “the experience of consumers having affordable fun in a challenging environment.” “It shows the strength of cans and the strength of our industry.”
Meanwhile, Ardagh reported a 1% year-on-year decline in global beverage can shipments in the third quarter. This reflects a 2% growth in Europe and a 3% decline in the Americas. North American shipments increased 1%, while Brazilian shipments decreased 17%. Executives said both beer and soft drinks were weak.
“Customer demand for non-alcoholic beverages in cans in North America remains strong, so we maintain our guidance for full-year North American shipments of mid-single-digit growth,” CEO Oliver Graham said in the company’s earnings call. Specifically, Ardagh Metal Packaging expects to increase sales by 3% per year. “These beverage cans continue to outperform other substrates in our customers’ packaging mixes,” he said.
Ardagh is working on several projects in the coming quarters to revamp the line to better adapt to different can sizes.
Beverage Market Trends
Market research company Circana By early 2025, nearly half of Americans will drink less this year. Several major beer distributors have made recent announcements. change To adapt.
Molson Coors made an important announcement. corporate restructuring This includes cutting 400 roles, or 9% of salaried positions, across its U.S. operations by the end of the year. Going forward, the company plans to focus more on “expansion into adjacent categories such as premium mixers, non-alcoholic beverages, and energy drinks.”
Constellation Brands sells products such as: model“In the most recent quarter, net sales fell 7% and our beer business fell nearly 3% due to lower sales volumes due to a difficult socioeconomic environment that dampened consumer demand across the industry.
Likewise, Heineken saw overall sales decline during its most recent quarter, with third-quarter net revenue in the Americas down more than 5% and beer production down more than 7%. However, when it comes to packaging, cans are the format consumers prefer.And that’s where we know where the growth is right now,” the CFO said. Harold Broek came out to announce earnings.
Beverage giants in the non-alcoholic market, such as soft drinks, energy drinks, and protein drinks, have repeatedly mentioned their price pack architecture in recent earnings calls.
“While the overall environment continues to be challenging, we have remained flexible, adapting our plans where needed and investing for growth,” he said. Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey is attending the company. Earnings Disclosure This month we reported a 5% increase in third quarter sales.
Coca-Cola mentioned several strategic pack experiments in its earnings call. In Brazil, a duo pack of Coca-Cola Zero Sugar was trialled, “further linking the brand to dining events.” said Chief Operating Officer Henrique Brown.
Additionally, “We are excited to introduce a packaging architecture that addresses the pressures consumers have on their daily disposable income,” said Braun. Coca-Cola is “pivoting accordingly” and working with bottlers to adapt to the consumer environment. Coca-Cola recently expanded its mini-can offering, which now accounts for $1 billion in sales, Brown said.
