Coca-Cola Experiments With Aluminum Bottles
Recognizing that sales of carbonated beverages have dropped in the U.S. for four straight years, Coca-Cola will be releasing new forms and sizes of packaging based on sales success in Europe.
Traditionally, soft drinks have been available in only a few sizes, such as 12-ounce aluminum cans and two-liter plastic bottles. But Coca-Cola wants to experiment with different sizes moving forward, as there are over a dozen varieties of soft-drink packaging in Europe.
Aluminum is a durable and sustainable metal: two-thirds of the aluminum ever produced is in use today. Photo: Bevreview.com
The packaging experiment will focus both on material and price point:
- Coca-Cola will be featuring aluminum bottles and a redesigned two-liter plastic format known as contour, which is shaped the same way as Coca Cola’s classic glass bottles from the early 20th century.
- Meanwhile, the price-per-ounce will be based on size, with a twin-pack of 1.5-liter bottles costing more per ounce than a two-liter bottle. Generally, price-per-ounce would decrease when consumers purchase a higher quantity.
“There was a point in time when value was defined as more—more ounces for less [money],” Ralph Kytan, vice president of Coca-Cola’s North American bottling operations tells The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Package diversity is about matching up the benefits of the package with the needs of the purchaser for the occasion they’re buying for.”
As far as recycling, all of the new packaging options will be recyclable since they are manufactured using aluminum or PETE plastic. Size of the containers does not factor into recyclability.
In other Coca-Cola news, the company recycled 200,000 aluminum cans used to produce recycling-themed artwork for the U.K.’s Recycle Week.
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Toney Garrett
posted on February 20th, 2012 at 11:00 pm