Aluminum Can Supplier for Chile: 355ml & 473ml B2B Sourcing Guide

1. The Chilean Beverage Can Market

Chile is one of the most mature beverage markets on the Pacific coast of South America. Santiago's supermarket chains stock a wide range of canned lager, sparkling water, and RTD formats, the craft brewing scene in Santiago and the southern regions keeps converting from glass to cans, and the country's strong export wine industry has embraced canned wine as a premium single-serve format. Because Chile has no local two-piece aluminum can production of scale, virtually every can consumed in the country is imported — which makes supplier selection a decisive factor for landed cost, lead time, and shelf impact.

Chilean importers typically coordinate a single consolidated program that covers cans and easy-open ends together. Alucan supplies both from the same program: two-piece aluminum bodies with matching 202 neck finish and 202 B64 SOT or CDL ends, printed in up to 8 colors with Spanish-language label artwork locked before tooling. For the wider regional picture, see our aluminum can supplier guide for South America.

2. Which Can Formats Chilean Brands Order

Two standard formats cover the large majority of Chilean can programs we coordinate. Both share the same 66.04 mm body diameter and 202 neck finish, so filling lines and seamers can run either size without changing neck tooling:

Seasonality matters: Chilean summer demand peaks between November and February, and can production is scheduled in campaigns. We recommend confirming production slots and delivery windows well before the peak, especially for first-time launches that still need artwork approval and registration documentation.

3. Technical Specifications (Data Sheet Values)

The parameters below are taken directly from our product data sheets. The 355ml (12oz) Standard can is the reference specification most Chilean buyers start with:

The 473ml (16oz) Standard can shares the same 66.04 mm body diameter and 202 neck finish at a taller 157.23 mm height, loading 5835 cans per pallet (93360 cans per 40HQ). Because the two formats share neck tooling and end compatibility, breweries can run both sizes on one seamer line:

For full regional format comparison, review the aluminum can size guide and our South America sourcing guide.

4. Coating Compliance for Chile Imports

Food-contact packaging imported into Chile must comply with the Reglamento Sanitario de los Alimentos (RSA), the food sanitation regulation administered by the Ministry of Health. Three documents protect your registration and customs clearance: food-contact migration test reports from independent laboratories such as SGS, food safety certification of the supplying production facilities (FSSC 22000), and the commercial specification confirming the internal coating system.

Alucan supplies cans with water-based modified epoxy resin internal coatings as standard. Epoxy is the mainstream coating system for Chilean beverage imports — BPANI linings are only required in specific regulated markets such as Norway, Canada, certain US states, and some global retail groups, not by Chilean regulation. Confirming the coating system before tooling protects flavor stability for sensitive products, especially craft IPA, RTD, and canned wine programs. Our coating guide explains the technical differences in detail.

5. FOB and CIF Shipping to San Antonio and Valparaiso

San Antonio and Valparaiso are Chile's two primary container gateways, and both are common reference ports for can import programs we coordinate for Chilean customers. Ocean transit from Chinese loading ports typically runs 35–40 days depending on the service loop, so a November–February peak season program should book production and vessel space roughly three months ahead.

Under FOB San Antonio terms, experienced importers control ocean freight and marine insurance through their own forwarders — the common choice for repeat high-volume programs. Under CIF San Antonio terms, Alucan coordinates the ocean leg and insurance, which simplifies the first import cycle. First-time importers typically start with CIF and transition to FOB as volumes stabilize. Our FOB vs CIF guide compares both Incoterms in detail.

One 40HQ container per SKU is the standard sea-freight MOQ: 118,256 units of the 355ml Standard or 93,360 units of the 473ml Standard per container according to our data sheets. Consolidating cans and ends in a mixed load is possible — our 40HQ loading guide covers pallet configurations and mixed-container strategies.

FAQ: Sourcing Aluminum Cans for Chile