Custom glass bottles
Design is the art of creation. Good design is a blend of functionality and aesthetic appeal. Yet, even familiar objects such as custom glass bottles can change their design. Sometimes they must change to become viable for the future, more environmentally friendly or simply better. Design and innovation go hand-in-hand because every technical development follows a design process.
We work with our customers to develop custom glass packaging that embodies their product idea and marketing strategy in three ways: in its look, feel and materials. Good design gives a product a clear identity and positions it strategically in the market.
Innovation
For a successful glass packaging design, it is important to involve the manufacturer in the innovation process right from the start. The more accurately and thoroughly we understand the requirements for the proposed custom glass packaging, the more efficient and shorter our development work is. The Vetropack glass specialists enjoy sharing their years of experience.
Glass bottle design in 3D
Experienced product designers work closely with our customers in our in-house design office. They develop custom glass bottles and jars from the initial product idea right through to the concrete product drawings and plans for the mould design.
First decisions are made using detailed 3D blueprints. Even the lids and the label can be accurately depicted at this stage. After this, wood or acrylic models are made to refine the design. The label is also agreed on. Finally, the overall design is fine-tuned in a sample production run.
Different glass bottle designs for different products
No matter what food or drink you want to package – be it jam, mineral water, wine or beer – Vetropack offers around 2,500 different glass packaging designs, standard or customised, for your delicious products. Thanks to its shape, colour and choice of finish, glass makes a product unique and unmistakable. The glass bottle design determines whether the outer appearance of a product is stylish, distinctive and harmonious, while the consumer later judges the taste of the content.
Custom glass bottle design makes a product speak, reinforcing the brand message and giving the consumer additional information – not only through the details on the label but also through the image that its appearance conjures up.
We create custom glass packaging based on our own design blueprints, with input from the customer, or on those of external packaging designers commissioned by the customer. In either case, the Vetropack specialists work closely with our customers. Careful coordination, communication, and feedback are the basis for the successful implementation of the product idea.
Colours from the furnace and the feeder
The shape, colour, finish, and function of custom glass bottles combine to form a whole. The interplay between these elements makes each glass packaging design unique and in harmony with the product and its marketing image. Glass is coloured either in the furnace or in a subsequent process in the forehearth or feeder. The different methods provide flexibility and a broad colour spectrum.
In the traditional furnace colouring process, we mix the colour into the molten glass mass that is made up of quartz sand, soda, limestone, dolomite and used glass. Depending on the colour, the proportion of used glass may be up to 90%. This method is used to create eight standard shades: brilliant white, fresh and stylish primeur, bright spring green, sparkling Vetrogreen, tasteful olive, golden late-summer feuillemorte, matte and cloudy cuvee, and warm earthy brown.
Naturally, we also meet requests for individual colour shades. For smaller production volumes and special colours, our glassmakers add the colour concentrate to the molten glass in the feeder. The colour palette for your custom glass packaging ranges from dark cobalt and clear, water blue to subtle green and deepest black.
Colour follows function
The colour of the glass not only determines the appearance of the packaging but also its functionality. The darker the colour, the more protection from light. Light can change the colour of food and drink, lead to vitamin loss, affect the taste or reduce the shelf life of the product. The degree of translucency - or rather the protection from light – is therefore particularly important when choosing the colours for custom glass bottles.