At least on the top of a beverage bottle being short can be a distinct advantage. The bad economy and the trend toward sustainability has created an atmosphere where the smaller the closure, the happier beverage companies seem to be. Yes, less is more, like never before, when it comes to topping off your bottles.

In fact, Tony Smith, Closure Systems International’s (CSI) vice-president of global marketing and business development, says the Aqua-Lok mini 26mm closure CSI designed for brands like Nestlé Waters North America’s Poland Springs delivers a 40 percent reduction in weight between the combined finish and closure. “It’s probably half the height of one that would be on a standard water bottle and very ultra light weight,” he says.

John Krasich, CSI’s director of business development for the noncarbonated beverage segment, adds that the smaller closures also save customers money. “The big trend globally that we’re working on is actually enabling customers to help reduce their packaging costs,” he says.

Today’s closures are also being used to boost sales such as in a recent promotion Gatorade ran in Brazil to capitalize on the excitement surrounding the World Cup. The co-packer, AmBev, turned to Rexam to provide new 33mm Pull & Push caps in yellow and green, the colors of the Brazilian flag.

On the milk and juice side, Roy Robinson, vice president of Portola, says there has been a priority placed on tamper evidence, along with a more recent trend towards the use of screwcaps. “It’s moving towards screwcap environment with a traditional tamper band and resealability,” he says.

In order to tackle a decreasing demand for chilled premium dairy products being experienced in Mexico, Grupo Alpura looked for a new way to appeal to consumers. The solution was Tetra Top One Step Opening, a Tetra Pak carton-based bottle, which is easy to grip, open, reseal and recycle and has a tamper proof device built into the cap for extra consumer convenience.

“In just six months, from April to November 2009, our sales grew by 28 percent in Mexico City and 23 percent nationwide,” says Rios Castelazo, Grupo Alpura Marketing director. “Both retailers and consumers love Tetra Top One Step Opening. This new package has been key to refreshing our brand, turning it into one that is much more modern and appealing.”

The desire to stand out on the store shelf also has driven the need for customization from companies like Aptar. Explains that company’s global business development manager, Todd Caron, “I’d like to say that we are the alternative closure as we do not manufacture any flat closures. All of our products are unique in that they address consumer needs first and foremost.”

Caron adds, “We rely heavily on consumer trend analysis to drive all of our forward growth strategies. I am part of a dedicated business unit that is focused exclusively on beverage with our goal to understand and develop closures that address and meet the consumer’s needs and desires. We are very much in support of the “pull model” and therefore work hand in hand with our customers all the way from basic consumer need through to concept validation to design and commercialize closures that the consumer wants.” Aptar also currently offers several sport closures as stock items for use in the non-carbonated segments.

Alternative wine closures also continue to make headway, but at different paces around world. For example, CSI’s Vin0-Seal glass closure is popular in Europe, but Smith admits its growth has been slowed by entrenched traditions in the wine culture, and also economic headwinds.

Robinson says the innovative Zork closure franchise that Portola owns in North America is faced with the same situation. “Breaking old traditions is not easy, but we’ve seen some growth. But that’s really around convenience,” he says.

And what’s next might be significant advances in closures made from plants. Says CSI’s Smith: “We are working on biogenic resins from plant-based sources and making caps and closures out of that resin material. And while that’s technically possible there’s still an economic cost issue there that we haven’t solved yet.” And even further upstream, says Smith, may be closures made from post-consumer recycled material.