Rocking for Rocker Spirits

One function of packaging is to tell a story that will encourage people to make a spontaneous purchase decision. This is also the idea behind a new product from O-I, the world’s biggest manufacturers of glass containers. Rocker Spirits, a small distillery based in Colorado, was asked to design a bottle that takes the consumer back to the days when everything was a bit more simple and when physical labour and craftsmanship were valued more highly than they are today.

Eventually, the firm decided to base their design on Bleck oil cans as used in the 1930s. This meant copying the weighing mechanism which made it easier to pour from these cans.

The material in which the bottle was eventually implemented was premium flint glass which excels in its high quality while also conveying the desired retro effect. The bottle, which is rounded in shape, with two tapered sides, has an off-centre bottleneck and a somewhat heavier base to serve as a counterweight. The label is designed like an old-fashioned speedometer, in keeping with the overall visual impression.

“Rocker Spirits illustrates superbly how we use our experience in the development of new glass designs. It’s a bottle that perfectly fits the brand. It all started with a customer’s idea who wanted their bottle to tell a story,” says Steffi Lenz, Innovation Project Manager at O-I. Dustin Evans, co-founder of Rocker Spirits, is also pleased with the joint project and its results: “It’s great. It even feels a bit unreal that we actually managed to carry out our idea.”