Uploaded March 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
(1795 → 1810): The modern can begins with a military need! In 1795, Napoleon Bonaparte’s government offers a 12,000‑franc prize to improve food preservation for France’s army and navy, igniting breakthroughs in durable rations. Nicolas Appert (1809) pioneers heat‑based preservation, and Peter Durand (1810) patents sealed tin‑plated cans.
(1914 →1942): By the time of the world wars, cans were already a normal part of American daily life and essential to military rations, since they were durable, portable, and ideal for feeding soldiers overseas. And in 1935, the first steel beer cans were introduced by the Gottfried Krueger Brewing Company in partnership with American Can Company. Marking the debut of canned beer in the U.S. and quickly becoming a popular format at home and abroad.
(1958 →1977): More than a century later from the first tin-plated can, packaging starts using lighter, formable aluminum. 1958: Coors introduces the first aluminum beverage can; 1961: the ring‑pull easy‑open end accelerates adoption; 1975: the stay‑on‑tab improves safety, convenience, and recycling.
(Today): The aluminum beverage can is one of the most sustainable packages in the world; infinitely recyclable without quality loss, saving ~95% energy versus primary production and enabling true closed‑loop circularity.
(1795 → 1810): The modern can begins with a military need! In 1795, Napoleon Bonaparte’s government offers a 12,000‑franc prize to improve food preservation for France’s army and navy, igniting breakthroughs in durable rations. Nicolas Appert (1809) pioneers heat‑based preservation, and Peter Durand (1810) patents sealed tin‑plated cans.
(1914 →1942): By the time of the world wars, cans were already a normal part of American daily life and essential to military rations, since they were durable, portable, and ideal for feeding soldiers overseas. And in 1935, the first steel beer cans were introduced by the Gottfried Krueger Brewing Company in partnership with American Can Company. Marking the debut of canned beer in the U.S. and quickly becoming a popular format at home and abroad.
(1958 →1977): More than a century later from the first tin-plated can, packaging starts using lighter, formable aluminum. 1958: Coors introduces the first aluminum beverage can; 1961: the ring‑pull easy‑open end accelerates adoption; 1975: the stay‑on‑tab improves safety, convenience, and recycling.
(Today): The aluminum beverage can is one of the most sustainable packages in the world; infinitely recyclable without quality loss, saving ~95% energy versus primary production and enabling true closed‑loop circularity.
