CNY beer brand designs around APAC: Which one beats the rest?

Lunar New Year is one of the key festivals to celebrate and share a drink with loved ones in Asia. Ahead of the festival, numerous beer brands around APAC have been looking for meaningful ways to connect with consumers by showcasing their brand identities through out-of-the-box ideas, including producing innovative beer bottle and can designs. 

Despite having designed in different styles, most of the beer brands have brought forward their latest beer collections in exclusive designs just to amplify one message - to bring hopes for prosperity, happiness and peace to consumers and their loved ones, referencing from the Chinese zodiac "Rabbit". 

With countless beer bottle and can designs out there, here are five latest beer packaging designs MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has rounded up for the upcoming Chinese New Year. 

1. Asahi

Asahi Super Dry has unveiled a limited-edition design on cans and outer-packaging to mark the celebrated festival in Asia.

Exclusively available in Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia, the packaging with bold, red, geometric design features nod to the Year of the Rabbit, demonstrating Asahi Super Dry’s modern Japan vibrancy and ambition to inspire progression by going beyond the expected.

With the aim to inspire people to look for something beyond the expected during the Chinese New Year, the masks represent the Chinese zodiac sign for 2023, the rabbit, through a juxtaposition of authentic and innovative. The rabbit is expressed in the concept of origami, a Japanese paper handcraft, whilst the various shades created by the folds give the mask a three dimensional appearance.

On the other hand, the rabbit incorporates the world of digital art, with the composition of straight lines and the nuance of reflective lights delivering the impression of cutting-edge artistry. Across the packaging, elements of geometric pattern are applied in a complex manner to deliver the festive atmosphere of Chinese New Year whilst giving a luxurious feeling.

2. Carlsberg

Carlsberg celebrates Lunar New Year and the year of the Rabbit with special limited-edition packaging. Created by multi award-winning illustrator Feifei Ruan, the visual storytelling truly captures Chinese New Year’s essence, drawing on the celebratory nature of reuniting with family and friends.

Feifei Ruan’s illustration is described as a spring wonderland depicting eight magical rabbits transformed from the golden liquid of Carlsberg premium brew, reuniting in a beer forest. The piece is embellished with koi fish, signifying luck and good fortune, flying swallows that welcome spring and new beginnings, and dragonflies symbolising harmony, prosperity and good luck. Additionally, elements of gold coins and blooming peonies symbolise wealth, prosperity and new beginnings.

The illustrated wrap is available on brews across the region on both cans and bottles in China, on bottles in Singapore, Malaysia and on cans in Hong Kong. 

3. Heinekin

Heinekin has unveiled its latest limited-edition packaging ahead of Lunar New Year. The new design is exclusively available in Taiwan. The exclusive design features a rabbit in gold with a red star blasting with firework, flowers and confetti.

Furthermore, its subsidiary brand Tiger Beer is roaring into the Chinese New Year with a renewed spirit with its ‘Cheers to Bold Beginnings’ campaign. The notion is all about celebrating moments of reflection, as we recognize our past courage while gearing up for a bolder tomorrow. Tiger wants its fans to uncage the spirit of “Gan Gan Chong” with the boldness to break through with courage as we march into the Year of the Rabbit with its exciting activities, promotions and giveaways.

4. Budweiser

Budweiser Taiwan has launched a master collection combining modern and traditional crafts with "monastery ancient craft brewing". The beer bottle design features a rabbit in blue, red, white and gold, resonating from the brand colour. 

The collection also comes with a black thermal bottle featuring the limited-edition rabbit to show warmth and love to consumers in the winter. The bottle is convenient to carry around, with a heart-warming and practical design to celebrate the start of the new year with Budweiser's beer collections. 

5. Duvel 

Belgian beer brand Duvel has presented Duvel 2023 Year of the Rabbit limited-edition gift box, with a unique beer bottle packaging to welcome the new year and celebrate the festive season together. With a history of more than 100 years, the new design symbolises families bidding farewell to the old and ushering in the new, and hopes the Year of the Rabbit can bring good wishes to everyone.

As part of the traditional Chinese culture, the Rabbit symbolises creativity, imagination and wisdom of the Chinese nation. The image of "rabbit" on the latest collection has been a representative of peace, longevity, gentleness and kindness. The rabbit on the beer bottle is the desire of the Chinese nation for a better life. In recent years, Duvel Beer has ingeniously integrated Chinese traditional culture into the Duvel brand, and devoted itself to creating a series of New Year gift boxes of the twelve zodiac signs, paying the highest respect to traditional Chinese culture. This time, in addition to launching the Year of the Rabbit Zodiac Cup, Duvel Beer also added elements of auspicious clouds and jade rabbits to the bottle label. The auspicious rabbit welcomes the spring and good luck brings blessings to the reunion.