Canworks, Inc., a direct-to-aluminum-can digital printer serving the full breadth of the U.S. beverage market, has been acquired by Milwaukee-based private equity firm Mason Wells, a deal that underscores how critical flexible, short-run packaging infrastructure has become for emerging and growth-stage CPG beverage brands. Chicago-based Mesirow served as exclusive financial advisor to Canworks on the transaction.
Founded in 2020 by brothers Ryan and Marshall Thompson, Canworks operates five facilities across Texas, Georgia, California, Missouri, and Connecticut — a geographic footprint that gives beverage brand clients coast-to-coast production optionality. The company has carved out a niche serving high-velocity, high-growth beverage segments including energy drinks, ready-to-drink cocktails, hard seltzers, ciders, craft beer, kombucha, CBD, and cannabis-infused beverages. Its value proposition centers on fast turnaround, short-run flexibility, and premium graphic output — capabilities that are increasingly essential as brands chase seasonal SKU rotations, limited-edition runs, and regional retail tests without committing to full-scale production volumes.
Why Packaging Flexibility Matters
For grocery and mass channel buyers, Canworks-style digital can printing directly addresses one of the more persistent pain points in CPG beverage: the minimum order quantities attached to traditional lithographic can decoration. Brands looking to test a new flavor, secure a regional end-cap feature, or differentiate with a limited-edition planogram-ready SKU have historically been constrained by long-run commitments. Short-run digital printing removes that barrier, compressing the timeline from concept to shelf and lowering the financial risk of new item launches — a dynamic that benefits both emerging brands and the category managers evaluating them.
The transaction also reflects the competitive intensity across beverage sub-categories where on-shelf differentiation is a primary velocity driver. In a planogram environment where energy, functional hydration, and RTD alcohol are all fighting for facings, packaging design is a first-moment-of-truth lever. Retailers have increasingly rewarded brands that can execute high-graphic, eye-catching can designs at speed — a capability Canworks has built as its core competency.
PE Capital and Scale
Mason Wells brings a $767 million current buyout fund — Mason Wells Buyout Fund V, LP — and a track record that spans consumer packaged goods, packaging materials and converting, and outsourced business services. The firm has raised $2.4 billion in aggregate across five independent buyout funds since its 1998 founding, giving Canworks access to growth capital and operational expertise tailored to scaling packaging platforms. Co-founders Marshall and Ryan Thompson noted that Mason Wells' experience with businesses at similar inflection points was a key factor in selecting the firm as a partner.
Mesirow's packaging practice, led by Managing Directors Rick Weil and Melanie Yermack alongside Director Christopher Yike, has completed more than 225 packaging transactions over the past 25 years, making it one of the more active M&A advisors in the sector. Weil and Yermack described Canworks as a "fast-growing leader in aluminum can decorating solutions" and said the Mason Wells partnership positions the company for "meaningful expansion."
For CPG beverage operators and retail buyers tracking the supply chain behind their shelves, the Canworks-Mason Wells combination signals continued consolidation in the specialty packaging segment — and a likely increase in production capacity that could benefit brands seeking short-run beverage packaging solutions as competition for retail distribution intensifies across the functional and better-for-you beverage corridor.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.