Cans: the case for aluminum
The weight argument for cans is straightforward: a 330ml aluminum can weighs roughly 15g empty, against around 200g for a glass bottle of the same volume. That difference compounds fast. Per pallet you are moving significantly more product and less packaging, which translates directly into lower freight costs on ocean and air shipments. For an importer calculating landed cost across a container of beer, the can's weight advantage is one of the most durable numbers in the spreadsheet.
Barrier performance is where cans separate from glass in a way that matters practically. Aluminum is completely impermeable to oxygen and light — the two main drivers of beer staleness. Dissolved oxygen pickup is the enemy of any packaged beer; even a fraction of a parts-per-million increase at fill materially shortens the window in which a beer tastes as brewed. Light-struck off-flavors (that skunky note, caused by riboflavin-driven breakdown of iso-alpha acids from hops) affect both clear and amber glass under UV exposure. A can eliminates both risks simultaneously. Under equivalent cold-chain and storage conditions, cans consistently outperform bottles on shelf-life preservation — not as a marketing claim but as a measurable quality outcome.
The graphic real estate a can offers is genuinely different from a bottle label. Wraparound printing covers the full cylindrical surface — there is no back label, no neck label, no foil-wrapped crown taking space. For brands that invest in design, this matters: a can is a 360-degree canvas, and some of the most recognizable craft beer brands in the world treat it accordingly.
On sustainability, the picture is mixed but ultimately favorable for cans in most export contexts. Aluminum production is energy-intensive — more so than glass manufacture per unit. But aluminum recycling rates are significantly higher than glass in most markets, particularly in Europe and East Asia, and the circular-economy argument for aluminum is stronger. Critically for export, the lower shipping weight means lower transport emissions per unit of beer delivered. The net footprint depends on your market's recycling infrastructure, but the transport advantage is consistent regardless of destination.
Glass bottles: consumer perception and premium positioning
Glass carries a premium association that aluminum has not yet fully displaced in most markets. This is not uniform — younger urban consumers in Southeast Asia and parts of Europe are increasingly indifferent to format as a quality signal, and craft beer in cans is now well-accepted in the US and UK — but in heritage beer markets, specialty retail channels, and food-service environments, a glass bottle reads as more serious. Premium craft beer, abbey styles, and heritage brands choose glass because their buyers expect it, and because that expectation is part of the brand communication.
Bottles also offer a range of closure types that cans cannot replicate. A crown cap signals everyday drinking; a cork-and-cage communicates something closer to a wine-level occasion; a wax-dipped cork suggests a cellarable or gift-tier product. These signals are available to a glass-packaged brand and they are not trivial — for a high-end tea beer destined for a fine-dining channel, the closure choice is part of the product story.
The tradeoffs are real. Glass is heavier, which raises freight cost and lowers the product-to-packaging ratio per pallet. Brown glass blocks UV reasonably well; green and clear glass do not, and many export channels cannot guarantee consistent refrigeration or UV-protected shelving. Breakage is a genuine logistics risk — a pallet of glass that shifts in a container can mean write-offs on arrival that a pallet of cans would not. And glass provides no oxygen barrier at the closure; crown cap seals are effective but not as absolute as a seamed aluminum end.
For export of premium-positioned craft or tea beer, 330ml or 500ml glass can work well if two conditions are met: the cold chain between brewery and consumer is reliable, and the intended shelf life is short — three to four months maximum. If either condition is uncertain, the barrier advantages of aluminum become more important than the perception advantages of glass.
Kegs: the on-trade format
Draft beer served from a clean, cold keg through a well-maintained dispense system is the best version of most beers. There is no packaging barrier between the beer and the glass — no can liner, no closure — and the keg itself is a pressurized, oxygen-free vessel that keeps the beer in the condition it left the brewery until the moment of service. For a premium restaurant program, a craft beer bar, or a hotel F&B operation that goes through volume, kegs deliver the freshest product possible.
Keg sizes for export
For hospitality trade export, 20L and 30L kegs are the practical options. The standard European 50L keg is logistically heavy and turns too slowly in most on-trade export contexts outside established beer markets. One-way (single-trip) kegs, typically stainless or composite, have become more common in export specifically because they solve the return-logistics problem — no empty keg to ship back to China.
The infrastructure requirement
The keg channel is gated by importer infrastructure in a way the retail formats are not. Your importer needs cold storage for keg inventory, a system for tracking and returning deposit kegs (or a budget for one-way units), and the ability to service or source-qualify the dispense systems their on-trade accounts use. This is a meaningful qualification bar — not every importer who can distribute canned beer can operate a keg program.
The practical result is that kegs work well in export when you have already identified a specific importer with confirmed on-trade capabilities, and when your target accounts — restaurants, bars, hotels — have the volume to turn a 20L or 30L keg within two to three weeks of tapping. For an initial export relationship or a market where craft beer infrastructure is still developing, starting with cans and adding keg once the distributor relationship is established is the lower-risk path.
Can size considerations for export markets
Not all 330ml cans land in the same market context, and size choice affects more than unit economics. Here is how the main formats behave across regions:
330ml — the global default
330ml is recognized and accepted in virtually every beer market worldwide. It is the smallest single-serve that allows the consumer to fully experience the beer — enough volume for the aroma to develop, the carbonation to settle, and the flavor to show across the full glass. For a new brand entering an unfamiliar market, 330ml minimizes the cost of consumer trial. It also means the buyer is not committing to a large volume per purchase to test an unknown product.
500ml — Germany, UK, Southeast Asia
500ml is the dominant single-serve in the German and UK off-trade, and it performs well in several Southeast Asian markets where larger serve sizes are the norm. If your target channel is mainstream retail in these markets, a 500ml SKU alongside your 330ml significantly expands your shelf presence. The higher unit volume per can also reduces the per-ml packaging cost, which matters when you are competing on price in high-volume retail.
473ml (16oz) — North America
The US 16oz "tallboy" is the craft beer standard in North American retail and on-trade. Importing in 330ml to the US is not wrong, but it reads as European rather than domestic craft, and some buyers in the US specifically request 16oz for format consistency with their existing range. If North America is your primary export target, 473ml tooling is worth confirming with your brewery before committing to a design.
250ml — premium single-serve
250ml is growing as a premium on-trade format, particularly in hotel F&B and airline service where controlled pour size and lower unit cost per serve are both relevant. For a specialty tea beer where the buyer wants to offer a tasting portion — or for a market where excise is calculated per-unit rather than by volume — 250ml has genuine appeal. It also opens the product to gifting and hamper inclusion where 330ml is too large per slot.
One practical note on large-format export: cans above 500ml trigger specific customs handling or import category review in several markets, particularly within the EU and some Middle Eastern jurisdictions. If you are considering 568ml (UK pint) or 710ml formats, confirm import classification and labeling requirements in your target market before committing to tooling or a print run. The 330ml default sidesteps these complications entirely and is the right starting point for any new export relationship.
Labeling requirements across formats
Packaging format and labeling compliance are inseparable in export. Each market has its own requirements, and some of those requirements differ by format — what is acceptable on a glass bottle label is not always the same as what is required on a can, because the printing process and available surface area differ.
The EU mandates minimum font sizes for ABV declaration and net volume across all alcohol packaging. For cans specifically, the type must remain legible on the curved surface after printing — a requirement that is straightforward for digital or offset can printing but can catch out importers who assume a bottle-label design scales directly to a can. Australia's mandatory "contains alcohol" visible statement has specific size and placement requirements. Some Gulf markets require a Halal status declaration or a cultural sensitivity statement that must appear on the principal display panel, not in a regulatory text block on the back.
For cans specifically, the inks, lacquers, and coatings applied to the interior and exterior must comply with food-contact material regulations in the destination country. Most reputable can suppliers producing for Chinese export breweries work to EU Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004 and US FDA food-contact standards, which are the most demanding benchmarks globally — product meeting both generally clears other markets. Confirm this certification with your can supplier before ordering, and ask for the food-contact compliance declaration in writing.
The practical rule for export labeling: finalize your destination market, pull the regulatory checklist for that market, and lock the label brief before you approve the design — not after. Correcting a label post-print means either a sticker overlay (which reads as amateurish in premium retail) or a full reprint. Neither is acceptable if your production window is tight. A brewery with export experience will have done this before and can point you to the key requirements; if yours cannot, treat that as a signal about their export readiness.
Frequently asked questions
Are cans or bottles better for tea beer specifically?
Cans. Tea beer aromatics are particularly volatile and degrade with both oxygen and light exposure. A can completely blocks both. The only argument for glass in a tea beer export context is premium shelf positioning in a specific channel — a high-end restaurant, a specialty retailer — where the consumer expects glass and the cold chain is managed.
What is the minimum order for canned beer at a Chinese OEM brewery?
Typically 5,000–20,000 cases per SKU for a standard production run. Smaller runs are possible at craft-scale facilities but carry a unit cost premium. The minimum is usually set by the canning line efficiency: short runs require more changeover time per unit produced, which the brewery prices into the per-case cost.
Can I use custom can shapes or sizes?
Standard sizes (250ml, 330ml, 500ml, 473ml) are available on existing tooling with no additional cost. Custom sizes or shapes require either finding a can supplier who holds that tooling or commissioning custom tooling — typically a one-time cost of $15,000–50,000 USD depending on the size and complexity. For a first export run, standard sizes on existing tooling is the practical choice.
The format decision in practice
For most export contexts — especially specialty tea beer or craft beer entering a new market — 330ml cans are the starting point that minimizes risk across logistics, shelf life, compliance, and consumer trial cost. Add 500ml cans for high-volume retail markets. Layer in glass if your channel and cold chain justify it. Consider kegs only once the importer relationship and on-trade infrastructure are confirmed. Get the format decision locked before the label brief, not after — packaging determines more than it looks like it does from the outside.