Looking good together: H!GHEND end unites Kaapse craft beers

Published May 2, 2023

Rotterdam’s Kaapse Brouwers are adopting a stunning H!GHEND can end from Ardagh Metal Packaging (AMP), creating a unified new look across their whole range of craft beers. Dynamic craft brewers Kaapse – who run their own brewery, filling line, and several venues – held a special party at their own bar, Kaapse Will’ns, to launch the new packs. The eye-catching H!GHEND end focuses on the company’s distinctive ‘K’ logo, repeated in a rainbow of individual colours and set off against an upper half of sophisticated white. ‘We wanted to make the most of the possibilities of H!GHEND’, said Tsomme Zijlstra, CEO of Kaapse Brouwers. ‘Suddenly we can have bright, beautiful colours on the shell, so we chose to express the K in the most vibrant colours we could, which all play off each other.’ The gorgeous design will now feature on every Kaapse can.

Recognising the can’s sustainability and product-protective qualities, the company has always used AMP – Europe’s 330ml standard can via CanLab, using see-through labels on a brown base to delineate the range. CanLab is an agile and active champion of craft beverage producers in Benelux, offering a range of packaging solutions to the craft segment – including sleeving, labelling, personalisation and mobile filling – which are often only accessible to large breweries. With the introduction of the deposit return system in the Netherlands, CanLab have supported Kaapse to move to a base silver can with multi-coloured labels, adding the special H!GHEND end to bring their range together under one branding umbrella.

AMP’s H!GHEND customisation series uses incredibly versatile print technology to allow for HD images and millions of colours on the can shell for the first time, with virtually limitless possibilities for creativity. Since H!GHEND is available at a very low minimum order quantity – just one pallet – it is perfect for independent craft brewers like Kaapse, and other specialist producers.

Tsomme Zijlstra summed up why Kaapse chose H!GHEND for their packs, saying, ‘This new look for our beer cans is fantastic – something really different and exciting at the top of the can. We’re binding the brand, emphasising the ‘K’, and reinforcing the fact that this is a Kaapse beer every time the customer picks it up.’

Gerlof Toenhake, Director Regional Sales at Ardagh Metal Packaging – Europe said: ‘The brilliant H!GHEND design finishes off the Kaapse cans with such a great effect. Bringing a range of different products together with one unifying design at the top is a really effective use of our H!GHEND, and we’re delighted to help our customers find new ways to boost their branding.’

The Kaapse Brouwers’ new cans with H!GHEND are available now across Benelux, in restaurants and bars – including Kaapse’s own three venues – and in supermarkets.