The Label Makers packages gin-inspired hand sanitiser for Steel River Drinks

By Austyn King | Published: 16-Oct-2020

Made with gin ingredients, the UK-based drinks company produced the hygiene product as sanitiser sales jumped by more than 250% during the Covid-19 pandemic

UK-based gin company Steel River Drinks has dipped into personal care with its first-ever hand sanitiser, featuring packaging designed by labelling specialist The Label Makers to resemble its gin bottles.

Initially given away to charities and care homes amid hand sanitiser shortages due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the product is said to be aimed at consumers seeking a more upmarket sanitiser for their homes and spaces.

To create packaging on-brand with the company's various gin editions, Steel River founder Jay Byers teamed up with The Label Makers to produce a metal label featuring the iconic Transporter Bridge in Middlesborough.

To achieve this industrial look, The Label Makers used a heavy silver metallic base material and applied a fine tonal black print to make the label look like a steel nameplate.

The Yorkshire-based company also used an ABG Big Foot hot foil and embossing stamping module, delivering 50 tons of pressure to create the heavy embossing on the sanitiser label.

Commenting on the label, Byers said: “I asked The Label Makers to come up with a metallic looking, embossed finish, in keeping with our metal gin labels.

“I wasn’t sure that it could be done, but the label they produced is amazing, providing a tactile high end feel and very similar to our standard metal versions.”

Kevin Lyons, Sales Director at The Label Makers, added: “We are really glad that we could provide a result for Jay and his team on this job.

“Given the current situation, being in a position to diversify and provide support in this way has worked well for Steel River Drinks.

“We really like the industrial branding used by the distiller and are pleased that we could provide the required level of emboss to achieve the required metallic effect…even down to the rivets on the bridge.”

Made at Steel River Drinks' distillery using gin ingredients, £2 from the sale of every sanitiser will be donated to local charities, with the company said to have raised more than £1,000 so far.

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