Until a few years ago, beer design in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) was a rather straightforward business. The absence of innovation during communism led to true category stagnation. By the time communism left the region, traditionalism, protectionism, and chauvinism were the norm. Beer drinkers were men. In dark, smoky pubs. Bitching about life. These were an ultra-conservative bunch, and highly critical of changes in their beloved brews. So pack design essentially consisted of re-working a few highly traditional, instantly recognizable, design cues and backing it up with a few “It sure is great to be a guy!” TV commercials.
The past few years, however, have seen huge liberalization in terms of beer innovation. The need to differentiate along with continued consolidation have led to a rapid spreading of ideas and products throughout CEE. Products such as radlers (juice/beer mixes) and giant 2L PET bottles, which would’ve been unheard of just a few years ago, are now common. Designers are caught in the middle between a core beer drinking audience that wants everything to look and feel the same, and a broader public which expects brands to innovate and look more modern.
Cocoon Group is intimately familiar with the region’s beer brands and the challenges facing beer brand designers. It is estimated that, in the past 5 years, over 200 beer projects have passed across the desktop monitors of CG designers. Evgeny Razzhivin has been a senior designer at Cocoon Group for 5 years now and has had a hand in almost every one of these projects. We recently caught up to him to gain some insight into what makes great CEE beer design and what makes a beer designer tick.
