The Cottage Beer Project
How The Cottage Beer Project Found the Right Label for Their Brand
As a nano‑brewery producing premium bottle beers, The Cottage Beer Project focus on quality, provenance and environmentally conscious choices. When it came to their labels, they needed a solution that reflected their values without compromising durability or visual impact. This case study explores how our collaboration helped The Cottage Beer Project transition to a new label material that performs beautifully on the bottle - and on the shelf.
Can you tell us a bit about The Cottage Beer Project and what makes your brewery unique?
Cottage Beer Project is a small, award-winning, nano-brewery set close to the edge of Exmoor National Park. We established the business in November 2020 and focus on bottle conditioned beers – with the occasional cask supplied for specific festivals.
Bottle conditioned beers are a premium product, high in quality, with many benefits to their composition. They naturally carbonate, so have a gentle carbonation – not the fizzy product you ordinarily find in standard bottled beers. This lends a unique taste and silkier texture to our beers, enabling complexity and depth, with a longer shelf life.
They’re continually evolving in the bottle, being a live product and are actually rich in probiotics. We produce them as vegan friendly, using a natural product that derives from seaweed and does not affect the flavour. Our water source is our very own bore hole, tested regularly to ensure the water is exactly as required and fully compliant, so again this is a unique aspect we are adding to our beers.
What label finishes or details help your bottles stand out on the shelf?
Our label branding was key to helping us stand out, and from day one we wanted a theme that people would recognise as ours. Although we mostly sell direct to the public, we do have a select group of outlets and we recognised early on that many bottled beers had quite bland labels. We therefore deliberately set out to create bold designs with strong local connotations, linked to where we live and produce the beers – Exmoor.
The material itself has evolved over time. Initially, we used polypropylene labels as they offered ease of application and were competitively priced. However, as we developed, we wanted a more sustainable option to match our ethos of being as environmentally friendly as possible and to support our aim of becoming a single-use plastic-free business.
We then sourced a label made from marble quarry waste, although this still contained a small percentage of recycled plastic. While it was a good product, limited manufacturer uptake meant prices were increasing. We subsequently switched to Devon-based inkREADible Labels, who supported us with a high-quality paper label that we have now successfully introduced.
What challenges or needs were you facing with your labels that we were able to help with?
The main challenge was to ensure we had a label that was entirely plastic free, as we had previously tried paper labels that were easily damaged when they became wet, and the quality looked poor. inkREADible were very helpful in being able to offer their expertise and were soon able to offer the paper label we have now transitioned to.
What made inkREADible Labels stand out when you were choosing a label supplier?
Primarily it was the ease of talking to Jon and Dawn, and their willingness to help what is a relatively small business achieve its needs. We met them at an awards ceremony in late 2025, and since then communicated a number of times having established an initial relationship. It certainly makes a difference to meet potential suppliers face-to-face, and they are also a Devon based business, so it again matched our efforts to continue to purchase from south-west based suppliers wherever we can.
Would you recommend inkREADible Labels to other brands and if so, why?
Definitely recommend inkREADible as we found them to be easy to deal with, and they have certainly listened to a number of our concerns and helped us without pressurising us into purchasing.
And Plans For The Future?
2026 sees us focus on trying to develop our UK shipping. While we’ve spent the first 5 years of our business primarily building a local presence, selling at the many markets, fairs and festivals across Devon and West Somerset, these have become more challenging in the current economic climate, so we need to establish sales across the UK and hopefully reach previous customers and new ones alike. We launched our UK shipping in October 2025, but we need to figure out how we pick up national sales to a manageable level that will see us prosper as a small brewery.
Finding a Label Supplier
The Cottage Beer Project’s journey shows how thoughtful design, sustainable materials, and supportive supplier relationships can elevate a brand’s story and strengthen its connection with customers.
By working closely with inkREADible, they found a plastic free paper label that aligns with their environmental ethos. As the brewery expands its reach across the UK, their labels now reflect the same care, craft and authenticity that define every bottle they produce. It’s been a pleasure to support their growt, and we look forward to seeing where their next chapter takes them.
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If this case study resonates with your brand, get in touch to discover how inkREADible can help bring your labels to life.
