Beer52 is a craft beer club specialising in delivering hand-selected, small-batch brews directly to customers. With both subscription boxes and a vast range of individual beers for customers to choose from, the business has quickly grown into one of the ‘go-to’ brands for craft beers in the UK.
One of the brand's most popular offerings is its craft beer advent calendar, which gives customers 24 exciting and unique craft beers to try in the lead-up to Christmas. Featuring a mix of styles from breweries around the world, Beer52’s advent calendar is always a firm favourite with its growing customer base.
This is the third consecutive year that Smurfit Westrock has worked with Beer52 to bring its festive calendar to life. Building on the success of previous years, the Smurfit Westrock Tannochside team supported Beer52 with a refreshed design, continuing to deliver excitement and novelty for consumers.
Beer52’s hunt for a bold and brew-tiful advent calendar
Continuing a long-standing partnership, Beer52 once again turned to the Smurfit Westrock Tannochside team for a beer advent calendar that would truly deliver the 'wow' factor, driving both brand awareness and seasonal sales. As a dynamic and creative brand, Beer52 wanted its advent calendar to reflect its unique personality while staying true to its green goals.
The brief was to create a refreshed, sustainable custom packaging design - keeping things feeling new for returning customers - with minimal components, yet still packed with festive excitement and a nod to Beer52's distinct identity. Using the insights gained in previous years, the Tannochside team were eager to take on the task once again.
Beer advent calendar packaging design
Last year, Beer52 explored a fresh direction with its festive colour palette, but this year the design gently nods back to tradition. While you won’t find the classic bright reds and greens, the palette uses softer, contemporary shades inspired by them.
The artwork brings a festive home to life, featuring much-loved Christmas motifs - crackers, Christmas dinner, Santa hats, reindeer, carol singers, an elf and the main man’s sleigh. It’s a modern take on everything customers enjoy about the season, designed to spark curiosity.
With packaging having less than two seconds to capture shoppers’ attention (Explorer Research), this design's colours not only elevate the premium feel of the advent calendar but also help Beer52 stand out from competitors in an increasingly crowded, fast-growing advent calendar market. 72% of Brits say they purchase advent calendars (Ipsos), and this year’s design ensures Beer52’s offering remains a standout choice for both loyal fans and new customers discovering the range.
Advent calendar packaging that’s scaleable and supply-chain friendly
Drawing on their experience from previous years, the Smurfit Westrock Tannochside team were able to build on a proven design while refining it to meet the new brief and increased demand. They prioritised speed and ease of assembly with the calendars needing to be constructed and packed quickly.
With 80% of consumers saying they wouldn’t return to a brand if the packaging was poor (Meteor Space), the advent calendar packaging was designed with the challenges of navigating the supply chain in mind. It once again had to withstand the entire journey to consumers, retain its shape, protect the beers, and arrive in perfect condition.
Ross Thorburn, Smurfit Westrock’s Beer52 Account Manager, reflects: “We always rise to the challenges that Beer52 brings to our design team and deliver high-quality printed packaging. This year's challenge was being able to do it on a larger scale, and we’re extremely happy with how it all turned out.”
Beer advent packaging that taps into seasonal sales
As a trusted packaging partner, Smurfit Westrock Tannochside used its expertise to scale production and meet growing demand, ensuring the seasonal packaging was not only visually impactful but also supply-chain-friendly. From initial design to final delivery, the team remains committed to helping customers ramp up for seasonal success with reliable, sustainable packaging solutions.
James Taylor, Beer52 CMO, said, “We were over the moon when Smurfit Westrock took on our 2025 Beer52 Advent Calendar. Having previously worked with them on our 2023 and 2024 calendars, we knew we were in safe hands. This year's calendar looks incredible, and we are extremely excited to share it with our craft beer community. Last year's calendar was a success, and we expect this year will be no exception.”
If you’re looking to boost sales at the most wonderful time of the year, get in touch with our packaging experts today.