Jägermeister and O-I Develop Limited Edition Retro Bottle

Jägermeister developed the special edition bottle in close cooperation with its long-standing production and design partner, O-I.

Mar 16 2012 --- The Hubertus deer head, symbolising the herbal liqueur brand Jägermeister, is as internationally renowned as the beverage itself. So it’s no surprise that the iconic symbol features strongly on the brand’s new retro bottle. Produced by O-I – the world’s leading glass packaging manufacturers – the limited edition bottle has been launched in the retail trade across Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Estonia, Australia, the Netherlands and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Once a traditional brand with a slightly old-fashioned image, Jägermeister herbal liqueur is enjoyed worldwide at parties, in bars or at home, by a wide range of consumers, from students to rock stars. The brand’s new retro limited-edition package highlights this evolution by combining tradition with modernity. In addition to the deer head embossed on the back of the bottle and the lettering on its side, a historic label communicates the history – spanning over 75 years – behind this iconic product. The distinctive bottle design is also characterised by its vintage look and textured surface, its robust square-edged shape and its hallmark green colour, which was specially developed for Jägermeister.

For the spirit producer from Wolfenbüttel, Germany, the most challenging aspect of developing the retro bottle was its unique design. “We wanted to keep the same appearance as the previous bottle. We increased its weight in order to convey the brand value. At the same time, the bottle’s special features were to remain identical,” explains Bettina Riemenschneider-Schilling, technical assistant at Master-Jägermeister SE. The result is a simple, timeless design that reflects both the brand’s traditional and modern values.

Standing the test of time: Jägermeiser in glass

Jägermeister developed the special edition bottle in close cooperation with its long-standing production and design partner, O-I. “Working hand-in-hand, we were able to find and implement solutions for this challenging project within the given time-frame,” says Eric Heinemann, sales manager for spirits at O-I Germany. “Mast-Jägermeister and O-I can look back on more than two decades of a successful partnership. Against this background, the development of this iconic bottle has been a matter of great importance to us. Through our collaboration, an interesting project has turned into a great product. The vintage look in particular leaves a very strong visual impression.”

The retro package, which will be produced in a run of around 900,000 units, follows a tradition of packaging in glass for Jägermeister. “Jägermeister has always been bottled into glass,” says Bettina Riemenschneider-Schilling. This dates from the product’s earliest days when its inventor Curt Mast went to great lengths to find a high quality but robust bottle to package his precious beverage.

“He tested different kinds of bottles for their resistance,” explains Bettina. “He dropped each bottle in his kitchen from a certain height onto the floor. Only the square-edged bottle, which we still use, survived this test. This was how he found the most reliable design model – the distinctive green Jägermeister bottle.”

The bottle is still going strong today: Mast-Jägermeister currently fills around 120,000 bottles per hour in 13 different sizes at its three facilities. The company exports its liqueur to 80 countries worldwide.

The advantages of glass – O-I’s Glass Is Life campaign

The unique advantages of glass packaging, and its unmatched ability to build food and beverage brands, are showcased in O-I’s first ever global brand campaign, Glass Is Life™. The campaign features prominent glass advocates - such as renowned Italian designer Francesco Lucchese and co-founder of the successful smoothies true fruits Nicolas Lecloux - who see glass as a valuable, sustainable form of packaging with significant advantages in terms of content taste, consumer health and the environment. The Glass Is Life™ campaign can be accessed via www.glassislife.com and the interactive Facebook page www.facebook.com/GlassIsLife, where consumers get the opportunity to join the conversation on glass and glass packaging.