Contact Sales on +44 (0)1472 240940
Berlin Packaging expands its presence in EMEA with the acquisition of BlueSky.
Contact Sales on +44 (0)1472 240940
Berlin Packaging expands its presence in EMEA with the acquisition of BlueSky.
In the last few years, they have started to appear in categories where brands are actively trying to stand out: premium spirits, functional drinks, water, mixers, wellness products and, more recently, olive oil.
That is interesting because these are not categories that change packaging formats lightly. Olive oil has a long relationship with glass and tinplate. Spirits are dominated by glass. Water and functional drinks are often led by PET, cans or cartons.
So when aluminium bottles start gaining attention in these spaces, it tells us something about the market.
Brand owners are looking for packaging that does more than hold the product. They want formats that can create shelf impact, support sustainability conversations, improve handling and open up new launch opportunities.
Aluminium bottles offer exactly that combination: lightweight, shatter-resistant, highly customisable and visually distinctive.
For challenger brands, independent producers and premium launches, that can be a powerful mix.
Packaging has always been part of the product story, but in saturated markets it becomes even more important.
A spirits brand launching into a crowded fixture needs to be noticed. An olive oil brand needs to signal quality, provenance and difference. A functional drink needs to feel modern and credible. A water brand needs to communicate convenience, sustainability and design in seconds.
Aluminium bottles help brands challenge category expectations.
They hide the product inside, which can feel counterintuitive in categories used to clear glass or visible liquids. But that is also part of their appeal. The bottle becomes the canvas. The full surface can be decorated, colour matched, printed or labelled to create a strong visual identity.
For brands that need to cut through, aluminium gives them room to play.
Olive oil is one of the most interesting opportunities for aluminium bottles.
Traditionally, olive oil has been packed in glass bottles, tins or larger metal cans. These formats are familiar and still have strong roles to play. But premium and artisanal olive oil brands are increasingly looking for packaging that feels more distinctive, more giftable and better suited to modern retail and direct-to-consumer channels.
An aluminium bottle can give olive oil brands a different kind of shelf presence.
It offers a clean, contemporary look while also helping protect the product from light exposure. That matters because olive oil can be sensitive to light, and packaging choice plays an important role in preserving quality over time.
Aluminium bottles may be useful for:
For an olive oil brand, aluminium can create a more design-led pack without losing the practical benefits of a robust, lightweight format.
Aluminium bottles can be a strong option for olive oil, but the full specification matters.
Brands need to consider the bottle size, neck finish, closure, liner, tamper-evident approach, decoration route and product compatibility.
Important questions include:
For food-adjacent and edible oil products, compatibility and suitability should always be checked against the specific product and intended use.
The pack should be treated as a complete system: bottle, inner lacquer, closure, seal, label, decoration and filling process.
Glass is still a strong and familiar packaging material for olive oil. It offers product visibility, a traditional feel and good barrier properties.
Aluminium does something different.
| Consideration | Aluminium bottle | Glass bottle |
|---|---|---|
| Light protection | Complete light barrier | Clear glass offers limited light protection; amber or dark glass improves it |
| Weight | Lightweight | Heavier |
| Breakage risk | Shatter-resistant | Can break if dropped |
| Shelf impact | Full surface can be decorated | Product visibility and label-led branding |
| Premium cue | Modern, distinctive and design-led | Traditional, established and familiar |
| Ecommerce suitability | Lower breakage risk in normal handling | Higher breakage risk and heavier shipping |
| Product visibility | Product is hidden | Product can be visible |
The right choice depends on the brand’s story.
If the product’s colour is central to the selling point, glass may be important. If the brand wants to create a bold, modern and highly decorated pack, aluminium can be a strong alternative.
Spirits have been one of the clearest examples of aluminium bottles breaking category norms.
Glass still dominates spirits, and it will continue to do so. But aluminium bottles have created opportunities for brands that want something lighter, more portable and more disruptive on shelf.
This is particularly relevant for:
For independent spirits brands, aluminium can help create a distinctive pack without needing to compete directly with traditional glass cues.
It allows the brand to lean into modernity, portability and design.
One of the biggest advantages of aluminium bottles in spirits is how different they feel.
In a category where so much packaging is built around glass weight, label design and heritage cues, aluminium brings a different visual language. It can feel bold, contemporary and unexpected.
The full surface of the bottle can be used for branding, which gives spirits brands more space to tell a story. That might be provenance, flavour, sustainability, limited-edition artwork or a more disruptive challenger-brand identity.
There are also practical benefits.
Aluminium bottles are lightweight and shatter-resistant. That can make them useful for travel, events, hospitality, rail, airline and outdoor occasions where glass may be less practical.
For smaller brands, aluminium can also support trial launches or new formats where the goal is to test a market without immediately committing to large-scale glass production.
Aluminium bottles are also relevant for water, functional drinks and wellness beverages.
This is a category where brands often need to balance convenience, sustainability, shelf appeal and portability. PET, cans, cartons and glass all have roles to play, but aluminium bottles can offer a different combination of benefits.
They can work well where brands need:
Functional beverages in particular are becoming more design-led. Packaging needs to communicate trust, benefit and quality quickly. Aluminium can help brands create a format that feels more considered than a standard bottle.
One of the reasons aluminium bottles are exciting is that they cross-pollinate well between sectors.
A format that feels fresh in personal care can feel disruptive in spirits. A dispensing closure from home care can influence olive oil packaging. A premium hair care bottle can inspire a functional wellness drink.
This is where aluminium becomes interesting for brand owners.
It is not locked into one category. It can move across:
For brands willing to challenge category norms, aluminium provides a flexible base for experimentation.
This is exactly where smaller, more agile businesses often lead. They can move faster than multinationals, test new formats and take more creative risks with packaging.
Aluminium bottles are used across different sectors because they offer a strong mix of practical and brand-led benefits.
| Benefit | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Lightweight | Easier to handle and transport than glass |
| Shatter-resistant | Useful for travel, hospitality, ecommerce and outdoor use |
| Complete light barrier | Helps protect light-sensitive products |
| Full-surface branding | Gives brands more room for print, colour and decoration |
| Premium appearance | Creates a distinctive, modern pack feel |
| Recyclability | Aluminium is widely recycled where suitable systems exist |
| Low MOQ opportunities | Stock formats can support trials and smaller launches |
| Decoration flexibility | Supports branded, shelf-ready packaging |
For BlueSky customers, the strongest benefit is often the combination: a pack that looks different, performs well and can be accessed at a more realistic MOQ than going direct to manufacture.
One of the biggest advantages of aluminium bottles is the available branding area.
Unlike a clear bottle where the product and label share the visual space, aluminium gives the entire bottle surface to the brand. This makes it useful for bold design, colour blocking, metallic finishes, illustrations, limited editions and premium positioning.
BlueSky can support decoration for aluminium bottles, helping brands manage the process from brief through to finished pack.
For aluminium bottles specifically, two-colour printing on stocked bottles is available from 1,000 units, while more complex designs applied at point of manufacture are available from 25,000 units.
This is important for smaller and growing brands.
It means aluminium does not have to be reserved only for multinational launches. It can be used for test runs, seasonal releases, limited editions and brand-building projects at more accessible volumes.
Watch Declan explain about the printing services BlueSky offer
Closure choice is critical for aluminium bottles, especially in food and beverage applications.
Depending on the product, brands may need to consider screw caps, aluminium caps, lined closures, ROPP necks, shrink seals, lollipop labels or other tamper-evident approaches.
ROPP stands for Roll-On Pilfer Proof. It is common in drinks packaging because it allows the use of a tamper-evident closure. However, ROPP formats may require specific filling and capping equipment, which can create barriers for smaller brands or limit filling options.
A standard screw neck bottle may be more practical for some launches, especially where tamper evidence can be created through a shrink seal, overcap or lollipop label.
This is particularly relevant for smaller spirits and olive oil brands that want the benefits of aluminium without adding unnecessary production complexity.
The best closure route depends on the product, filler, channel and tamper-evident requirement.
One of the challenges with aluminium bottles is access.
Going direct to a manufacturer can require higher MOQs, longer lead times and more complexity than many smaller brands can manage. That creates a barrier for independent producers, start-ups and NPD teams.
BlueSky helps make aluminium bottles more accessible by holding selected formats in stock and offering flexible MOQs.
That matters for brands that want to:
For a smaller brand, packaging flexibility can be the difference between an idea staying on a moodboard and getting to market.
Before choosing aluminium bottles, buyers should consider:
Aluminium bottles can open up exciting packaging opportunities, but specification still matters.
The bottle, inner lacquer, closure, decoration and filling route should all be considered together.
BlueSky supplies aluminium bottles for beverage, spirits, olive oil, personal care, hair care, home care, wellness and other suitable applications.
The team can support with:
BlueSky’s role is to help brands make aluminium bottle projects more practical, accessible and commercially realistic.
Whether you are developing an olive oil launch, a spirits format, a functional drink, a premium personal care range or a refill-led product, BlueSky can help you compare options.
Aluminium bottles give brands a way to challenge category norms.
From olive oil and spirits to water, functional drinks and personal care, the format offers a rare combination of shelf standout, practical handling and strong customisation potential.
For independent brands, challenger businesses and established companies exploring new launch formats, aluminium bottles create room to test, differentiate and build a stronger pack story.
Our expert team is ready to assist you with your packaging needs.
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