Kombucha Industry Packaging Statistics

The Booch News Worldwide Directory is a unique resource listing over 2,600 kombucha companies worldwide. Of these, 95% have an Instagram account. This report reveals how many sell their kombucha in glass bottles, cans, or both. The numbers are collected from the 2,486 companies whose Instagram includes product photographs.

Unfortunately, we are not able to track how many brands sell kombucha kegs (in taprooms, cafes, corporate accounts, or even home delivery).

Cans

Overall, 395 (16%) of all brands worldwide sell kombucha in cans. This includes 151 who also sell in bottles. There are 2,090 companies (84%) that only sell in glass bottles.

The countries with the highest percent of brands sold in cans are:

Biggest brands

In January, we published a list of the top 20 brands by number of Instagram Followers. Here’s the packaging they use:

Extending the list, of the 123 companies with more that 10,000 Followers, 40% sell kombucha in cans.

At the other send of the scale, of the 1,145 companies with fewer than 1,000 Followers, only 7% pack in cans. It’s possible that a canning line requires more of an investment than hand-filling bottles for these smaller companies. However, the per unit cost of cans are lower than glass bottles. Some brands hire mobile canning contractors that provide their services on site.

Bottles

The top 10 countries where kombucha is not sold in cans:

And the top 10 brands (by number of Followers) who only sell in glass bottles:

Craft Beer comparison

Thanks to Bart Watson, Chief Economist at the Brewers Association, for sharing details of his January, 2024 report Recap of 2023 Craft Beer Packaging Trends. His numbers for the United States show that cans are far and away the preferred packaging option for beer:

Cans grew almost 4% by volume, whereas bottles were down -9%. That led to another year of can share growth, reaching 68.4% share by volume for the year versus 31.4% share for bottles, from 65.4% and 34.4% share respectively last year.

History

Aluminum cans were introduced in 1958, and hybrid cans with steel bodies and aluminum tops were introduced in 1960. The hybrid beer cans were known as E-Z open and softop cans. Steel cans were phased out during the 1960s in favor of aluminum and hybrid cans. The first beer cans needed a “church key,” to punch a hole in the top to drink through. The first pull-tabs were added in 1963. Hence the song lyrics:

I blew out my flip flop
Stepped on a pop top
Cut my heel had to cruise on back home
But there’s booze in the blender
And soon it will render
That frozen concoction that helps me hang on.

Margaritaville, Jimmy Buffet

Disclaimer

The content of this article is accurate to the best of our knowledge and is presented for general informational purposes only. Except where noted, data is from the Booch News Worldwide Directory as of December 2023. The opinions are those of the editor. Please send corrections or questions to ian@boochnews.com. Comments are welcome.

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