Beverage co-packing in cans

Who this page is for

You're launching a beverage brand, scaling an existing one, or sourcing extra capacity from a co-packer outside your home market — and you've decided cans are the right format. This page answers, in one read, whether BEV fits your project and how to start.

If you don't yet know whether you want a co-packer that handles everything from formulation to logistics or one that just runs your line for a week, jump down to How we engage — four tiers.

What we can in cans

Cans are the flagship of BEV's offering. Alcoholic, non-alcoholic, carbonated, still — same line, different runs:

• Energy drinks. Caffeine, taurine, B-vitamins. Bring your formula or develop one with us. Read the energy-drink deep-dive →
• Hard seltzer. Light, fizzy, alc — the category that ate beer.
• RTD cocktails. Margaritas, palomas, mules — bar-quality, pre-mixed.
• Cocktails. Higher-proof spirits ready to crack open. Read the alcoholic-canning deep-dive →
• Carbonated soft drinks. Sodas, sparkling waters, anything bubbly.
• Juice beverages. Juice CSDs, schorles, juice spritzers, still juice drinks. Juice as an ingredient — not cold-pressed.
• Non-carbonated stills. Quiet drinks, functional shots, ready-to-drink anything.
• Teas. Iced or sparkling, caffeinated or not.
• Isotonic and sports drinks. Electrolytes, hydration, recovery.
• Spring water in cans. Yes — same fillers, same QC.

A note on juice: we make juice-based beverages — juice CSDs, schorles, juice-forward RTDs, still drinks with juice. We don't do cold-pressed juice or HPP juice tolling. If your product has juice as an ingredient and ships in a can, we're a fit.

What we don't do: HPP tolling, cold-pressed juice, glass bottling, aseptic or hot-fill PET. If those are what you need, we're not the right co-packer. If any of the above in a can is what you need, keep reading.

Six can sizes

We run six can formats. The 24 oz launches with our new KHS line in Q4 2026; the other five are running today.

All six sizes run on the same SQF Edition 9 facility. Decoration options: pre-printed cans (most common), shrink sleeves, or adhesive labels.

Capacity and lead time

• 17,000 cans per hour on our Krones canning line — today.
• + 40,000 cans per hour when our new KHS line opens December 2026. Combined throughput 57,000 cph.
• 80M cans per year today, scaling to 320M cans/year by 2027 as the KHS line ramps.

That's enough range to handle a 180,000-can launch run for a new brand and multi-million-can quarterly volumes for established CPG.

Standard lead time: ~6 weeks from approved spec and materials to first pallets in your warehouse. Repeat production runs move faster once your formula is locked and materials are in standing supply.

How big a first run?

Minimum order quantity: 180,000 cans per SKU. That's roughly one production run on the Krones line — about one truckload of finished pallets ready to ship.

180,000 cans is also a sensible launch quantity. For most beverage brands at first retail launch, that volume covers 4–6 weeks of inventory before reorder. For a CPG running a single restocking cycle, it's a small line item. We can't go below this MOQ — it's the production-run economics of a Tier-1 OEM canning line, not a policy choice.

Quality and regulatory

This is where we don't compromise. Three pieces:

SQF Edition 9 certified

The Safe Quality Food Institute Edition 9 code is the food-safety standard global retailers' vendor checklists demand. Cert 25-7302, audited annually by Mérieux NutriSciences. Scope covers both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage processing.

If your buyer is Costco, Sam's Club, OXXO, Walmart, or any major retailer, they'll ask for SQF Ed.9 (or an equivalent GFSI-recognized standard) before they add your SKU. We have it.

Anton Paar in-line and lab

Our QC platform is Anton Paar — the same instrument suite the world's largest brewers run.

• In-line sensors measure density, CO₂, and O₂ continuously on every can as it fills. Batch quality is tracked in real time through the entire run, not sampled at the end.
• On-site Anton Paar lab runs microbiology, O₂, CO₂, alcohol analysis, and double-seam check on every batch. No can ships without an analyst's COA.

Regulatory paperwork

COFEPRIS, FDA, EU. We handle permits, label compliance, and country-specific specs. Whether you're a Mexican brand going to US retail or a US brand nearshoring production, regulatory paperwork doesn't slow your launch.

Tunnel pasteurization

For alcoholic beverages and shelf-stable non-alcoholic drinks, our can line runs through tunnel pasteurization — the same standard global brewers use. No shortcuts on safety.

How we engage — four tiers

Most buyers don't realize they have options about how much of the chain a co-packer runs. We do.

The right tier depends on what you already have built and what you'd rather not build. You decide how much of the chain you want us to own.

Why nearshore in Mexico?

If you're a US-based brand thinking about moving canning south, four reasons it works:

1. Tier-1 European equipment at Latin American operating costs. The Krones canning line at our plant is the same OEM US producers use — our margin structure is different.
2. USMCA / CUSMA tariff treatment. Cross-border movement of finished beverages from Mexico to the US is fast, predictable, and tariff-friendly under the USMCA framework.
3. Same time zone. Our Estado de México plant is on US Central Time. Phone calls, video reviews, plant visits — no overnight lag.
4. Bilingual operations. Quote, contract, technical specs, COAs — all available in English or Spanish.

For Mexican brands, BEV is the domestic option that won't make you compromise on equipment or certification standards.

Frequently asked questions

The fastest way to know whether we're the right co-packer for your beverage is to talk to our AI strategist. Two minutes of conversation produces a real project brief — formats, MOQ, lead time, recommended engagement tier, and a quote band.