Can vs PET vs Tetra: What Each Format Costs You Per Unit
Pack format tends to be chosen on shelf appeal and then re-argued on cost. The two conversations use different numbers, and neither includes the ones that actually move margin.
01The unit price is the smallest part
Cans cost more empty than PET does and less to fill, chill and ship per litre delivered. Tetra wins on ambient distribution and loses on the perception of premium.
Comparing empty-pack prices answers a question nobody in the business is asking.
02What to put in the comparison
- Empty pack, delivered, at your actual order quantity
- Fill-line speed and yield for that format at your co-packer
- Secondary packaging and pallet efficiency — cans win here decisively
- Cold-chain requirement, if any
- Breakage and returns in your actual distribution
03Minimum order quantities set the floor
Printed cans typically carry a far higher MOQ than sleeved PET. For a first run, that difference can exceed the entire per-unit saving.
Shrink-sleeved cans are the usual compromise: can economics with a PET-like MOQ, at a small per-unit premium.