Kāpiti-based brewery Tuatara is making the switch to cans in a move it says will meet Kiwi craft preferences. The new cans will retain the distinctive tuatara eye design for which the brand has become known.

Sam Forrest, Senior Marketing Manager at DB Breweries, says: “Tuatara first dipped its toes into the can format in late 2022, and the time is now right to shed our old skin. Over the last few years, we’ve seen a trend towards Kiwi craft drinkers preferring the can format over bottles, with 70% of boutique craft beer volume in New Zealand currently in cans*.

“From a consumer point of view, convenience is a factor as cans stack easily in the fridge, plus they are easy to chuck in a bag on the way to a BBQ. As well as being easier to transport, the 330ml cans are on average 17x lighter than the original 330ml Tuatara bottles,” says Forrest.

The new format is produced on a new canning line in the Kāpiti brewery. The small footprint CraftCan Duo16 is a 16-head, dual lane inline filler and seamer that is tailored for smaller craft breweries and has the capability to fill a variety of can sizes. All Tuatara boxes are still hand-packed at the Kāpiti  site.

In addition to the new packaging, Tuatara is also updating the range and has launched Regenerate Pilsner, which also just won a Gold medal at the 2023 NZ Beer Awards.

“Our original pilsner put us on the map, but like every tuatara we possess the ability to regenerate,” says Forrest. “With Regenerate Pilsner, we’ve given our original pilsner an upgrade with a pilsner malt base contrasted by bold lime, grapefruit and gooseberry hop aromas.”

Tuatara’s new can packaging will be rolling out in bars, restaurants, liquor stores and supermarkets over the coming months. 

*Nielsen answers data to 11/06/2023