Smurfit Kappa Case Study - Heineken
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Case Study

Innovative corrugated beer barrel lid increases product visibility and drives sales for Heineken

Case_Study_heineken_barrell

The challenge

  • Pivovar Velke Brezno (Heineken CZ) was running a large campaign for its new beer brand one year after the initial launch as forecasted sales had not been achieved
  • The aim was to attach a lid containing some merchandise, including fragile items, onto the barrel in a way that wouldn’t affect transportation nor increase logistics costs
  • Beer barrels are very different to bottles - aimed at a different target market with a different point of sale 
  • Initially the Heineken Czech marketing team refused to consider a corrugated solution so Smurfit Kappa had to convince them that it could work
     

     

Our approach

  • Within just one week Smurfit Kappa designed an innovative corrugated lid with inserts which improved product visibility and had no impact on the existing process. 
  • The lids and internal inserts are supplied to the customer flat on a pallet and both parts can be assembled and applied to the barrel without gluing in just nine seconds 
  • Pivovar Velke Brezno ships these to the Heineken DC and the wholesalers who add the merchandise (beermats, cups, cap) and attach them to the barrels, at point of sale
  • Thanks to the offset print technology the graphics on the lid can be changed regularly and cost effectively
 

The result

  • 140% increased sales over 12 months (2016 / 2017)
  • Easy to assemble
  • Neutral cost