Asahi Super Dry Levels Up Manchester City Collab with Pixel Packaging

​Purple Creative has designed the new 2026 Asahi Super Dry x Manchester City Limited Edition packaging and brand world.

To celebrate the third year of the successful Manchester City Football Club sponsorship, Asahi Super Dry have released a new Limited Edition can. The design features three iconic Manchester City players, Phil Foden, Erling Haaland and Rodri, and was created exclusively for China, where there is a rapidly growing fan base.

The can design builds on the new Asahi Super Dry platform, ‘Seek What is Unique’, which is rooted in the Japanese philosophy of ichigo-ichie, the idea that life consists of unrepeatable, unique moments. Exactly what their sponsorship of Manchester City gives their audience.

For the design, Purple worked closely with Japanese illustrator Hermippe, who specialises in pixel art.

“We knew we wanted to evolve the design to create something that would really stand out in the off-trade and beyond. So we went with a more portraiture approach – but with a difference! We chose Hermippe for his unique style, which combines digital and analogue techniques – he uses different dot sizes and textures to create really complex, collage-like illustrations, blending and enhancing the player portraits with impactful pixel art. It looks incredible!” said Gary Westlake, creative director, Purple Creative.

Purple then created a ‘narrative pattern’, a story-telling pixel art tapestry showing a series of iconic of Manchester City elements, from the unforgettable Etihad Stadium to the ship on the football club’s shield, alongside dynamic shapes, textures and graphic illustrations.

This unique pixel art backdrop was then applied across secondary packs and assets, adding a modern, memorable and eye-catching style to all trade communications.

Launched in April 2026, at the end of a season that saw Manchester City win the EFL Cup, the FA Cup and be runner’s up in the Premier League, the iconic new can is only available in China.