Smart packaging innovation for Stella Artois

Sturdy all-round package

The new Stella Artois packaging, developed by packaging specialist Karl Knauer and implemented in collaboration with Krones AG and AB InBev, has been grabbing British beer lovers’ attention since February. Why? Because the intricately painted cardboard box with rounded corners used by Stella Artois, the premium beer brand distributed by the world's largest brewing group AB InBev, is unmissable. Karl Knauer designed a telescopic handle to ensure that the twelve 0.33-litre bottles held by the 6.5-kilogram container can be transported home safely and conveniently. This – like the packaging as a whole – does not feature any plastic reinforcing strips, making it especially easy to access and environmentally friendly.

Once at home or at the party, the box can be split in half along the 360-degree perforation. The bottom half holds all the bottles together and pushing the integrated side tabs inwards turns it into a tray. When the packaging is empty, the kraft board made from sustainable European resources and FSC® / PEFC certified production can be easily recycled via the paper recycling bin.

The detailed consideration of customer handling is matched by the cleverly designed packaging process. For a particular challenge of the project was to ensure the requisite high packaging speed with – or more accurately despite – the round corners. The flat cutout, the so-called “body”, needs to be set upright, shaped, filled, and ultimately sealed.

“Mammoth projects like this one can only be realised as a team. A big positive about this job was that we developed an intercompany team spirit straight away. The collaboration between the three project partners was very open. Each and every member of the team helped to bring the project to completion exceptionally quickly, unbureaucratically, and successfully”, says Hubert Wernet, Head of Innovation at Karl Knauer, describing the collaboration for this job. “I really enjoyed it and it was refreshing, just like one of the Stella Artois bottles in our box.”