Research Shows Consumers Prefer Food Cans

Philadelphia, PA – May 1, 2014. According to the latest research from The Can Manufacturers Institute (CMI), food cans are preferred by consumers when compared with other packaging formats. The findings show that cans help families enjoy nutritious meals and significantly impact retail profits, connecting retailers, brands and consumers to the foods they love. CROWN Food Packaging North America, a business unit of Crown Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CCK) (Crown) (www.crowncork.com) and member of CMI, offers a broad range of food packaging technologies to help brands meet consumer demands, including reliability, environmental responsibility and safety.

The new research by CMI indicates that, when asked which package is best for sealing in nutrients, existing purchasers of canned food chose the can nearly twice as often as frozen boxes/bags or glass jars^[1].  Canning facilities are strategically located near farms so that fruit and vegetables are canned within hours of being picked - the time when they are at their freshest. The food is then cooked in the can to destroy bacteria, leaving a low oxygen environment that maintains the same amount of vitamins and nutrients from the day the food was canned – without the need for any chemical preservatives – for the can’s entire shelf life. This value is reinforced by the fact that cans outsell alternative food packaging two to one in sales per unit, which is significant considering that 70-80% of the bottom line for grocery retailers is attributed to “center store” sales^[2]. Being able to offer food options that help consumers maintain healthy lifestyles and put nutritious meals on the table is proving critical for retailers to move products off store shelves and offer value to shoppers.

“At the store and in the home, cans provide brands with a valuable opportunity to connect with consumers. This is especially true when brands leverage packaging that enhances convenience and ease of opening, such as our EasyLift^® easy-open ends and PeelSeam™ peelable ends,” said Hella Gourven, Marketing Manager, CROWN Food Packaging North America. “In this way, metal packaging serves both as an effective tool for brands to build their reputation and offer a product that’s easy and dependable – and preferred by consumers.”

Though food cans benefit consumers of all ages, Millennials and Gen-Xers with children select canned food more often than consumers without kids. This fact offers an important avenue to connect with mothers – an extremely powerful demographic for retailers and brands alike. Canned goods are stocked in 98% of Americans’ kitchens and eight in ten Americans do not go one week without cooking with them^[3].

CMI also outlines other key benefits of metal packaging:

• Metal packaging is both 100% and infinitely recyclable, contributing to the creation of future cans.
• Steel food containers can be endlessly recycled without losing strength or quality.
• Steel can recycling rates in North America have risen from 15% in 1988 to 71% in 2012.
• 80-90% of all steel ever produced is still in use today.
• Every ton of recycled steel saves 2,500 pounds of iron ore, 1,000 pounds of coal and 120 pounds of limestone.

Additional information about the sustainability of metal packaging can be found in Crown’s latest sustainability report. Visit www.crowncork.com/sustainability to download the report.

About Crown Holdings, Inc.

Crown Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, is a leading supplier of packaging products to consumer marketing companies around the world. World headquarters are located in Philadelphia, PA. For more information, visit www.crowncork.com.

In North America: Hella Gourven, Marketing Manager; Tel: 1 215 698 6056; Email: hella.gourven@crowncork.com.

In Europe: Olivier Aubry, Business Development & Marketing Director; Tel: 41 417 591 089; Email: Olivier.AUBRY@eur.crowncork.com

In Asia Pacific: Evelyn Lim, Assistant to the President CROWN Asia-Pacific Holdings Ltd; Tel: 65 6229-4829; Email: Evelyn.Lim@crowncork.com.sg

For editorial inquiries: Thomas T. Fischer, Vice President Investor Relations and Corporate Affairs; Tel:  1 (215) 552-3720; Email: thomas.fischer@crowncork.com.

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