1 billion bottles are consumed every day around the world. 10 million points of sale. 1300 bottlers in 200 countries. The most famous brand on the planet has crossed borders to push the codes of marketing, innovation, and creativity even further. If Coca-Cola seduces with its inimitable taste of the (supposedly) jealously guarded recipe, there is also on the packaging side this little unique touch that allows us to recognize it among all.
What to remember from a success story of such magnitude? What are the secrets that the Coca-Cola packaging has not yet revealed to us? We lift the veil on an essential brand!
Want to be surprised? Imagine that originally, Coca-Cola boasted of having certain medicinal properties and was offered in pharmacies as a soothing solution for headaches and nerves.
The drink was thus sold and consumed as a stimulant, and for good reason! A small amount of cocaine was included in the preparation.
Replaced by caffeine from 1903, it was also around this period that the brand abandoned medicinal claims to become a real pleasure product. Today we find corn syrup and sucrose mixed with various extracts of vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, orange, and lemon.
Coca-Cola dominates the soda market
Very little cola as the name suggests in the end. But the equivalent of 15 teaspoons of sugar in a single 600-milliliter bottle!
Not enough to discourage gourmets, however. There Novella has always dominated the spreads market despite a concentration of palm oil and sugar much higher than that of hazelnuts. And then there is Coca-Cola, which has flown over the soda market without difficulty since its creation.
And for both products, we see that success rests on the same solid foundations. A unique recipe that no other competing brand has ever managed to reproduce. An inimitable and carefully crafted marketing landscape. A form of packaging and visual codes that are deeply rooted in the minds of consumers. So much so that the products now act as real benchmarks on their respective shelves.
Chronology of a signature
Behind its characteristic shape, the Contour bottle bears witness to the brand's long history. A story that has adapted each time to the specific needs of consumers, and which dates back to the end of the 19th century, to a time when the simple idea of a candid does not yet exist… And when Coca-Cola was served in cups!
A long story for a legendary bottle.
1889 - The fountains before the bottle
This absurd idea, it was the pharmacist John Stith Pemberton who had it. Coca-Cola first became known in pharmacies. It was then made available in self-service dispensers.
First discovery by the Americans. The first success for this legendary drink then emphasized the presence of numerous plant extracts.
The very first bottle will appear in 1889, 10 years later. A classic large glass bottle that sells for $ 1 each!
1915 - The Birth Of A Legend
A practical bottle whose main function is to transport the drink that was a good start. But nothing that is they're capable of really making an impression.
In 1915, the simplistic packaging of Coca-Cola was already starting to be copied by other brands. The company is launching a major design competition inviting American glassmakers to design "a bottle with such a distinctive shape that it can be recognized even by touch, in complete darkness
THE CONTOUR BOTTLE.
A full box for the Roots Glass Company, from Indiana, whose bottle with generous curves evoking the sheath dress very fashionable at the time won all the votes.
No bright red logo yet at the time, the bottles are green in color and the newcomer is soberly renamed Georgia Green, in homage to the state where The Coca-Cola Company was born.
1923 - To the 6-bottle pack
As the years go by, the contours of a new consumer society are gradually starting to take shape. In the early 1920s, more and more Americans owned a refrigerator. The brand opts for a pack of 6 small bottles, to be consumed at home.
The success cannot be denied. Coca-Cola is making a warm place for itself in millions of homes.
1950 - From packaging to icon
And the mark climbed again! In the middle of the 20th century, the Contour bottle finally made the cover of the famous Time Magazine. Less than 40 years after its creation, Coca-Cola packaging is going down in history as an international icon. A great first for a brand!
The previous year, a study had shown that the glass bottle was so characteristic that less than 1% of the population needed a label to recognize it.
1960 - Yes We Can (ette)
After being available in new sizes such as the King Size (285 and 355 ml) and the Family Size (769 ml), the famous sparkling drink is finally savored in cans. Made of aluminum, they include in their design the silhouette of the famous glass bottle so that consumers do not get lost.
Coca-Cola in a can.
With a capacity of 355 ml, it was not until 1977 before we French could take advantage of it. That same year, the US Patent Office registered the Contour bottle from 1915 as a registered trademark.
A real revolution in the world of Custom packaging!
1981 - Glass or PVC?
Practicality requires, while the rise of plastic is observed more and more frequently in everyday objects, glass is gradually giving way to plastic. Enough to breathe new life into manufacturing by now creating 40,000 20-liter bottles per hour in France alone.
2005 - Time for a makeover
90 years and not a wrinkle for the famous Contour bottle which even takes on a new outfit to surprise again and establish its eternal youth. As part of the Magnificent 5 campaign, many aluminum versions of the legendary bottle appear.
Vetropack produces a special limited edition of Coca-Cola - Brand Launch - Vetropack
A new practical format that still exists today and that never fails to get a facelift for every special occasion.
2009 - Keeping pace with ecodesign
Vast commitments that revolve around greener design today and Coca-Cola packaging have made no bones about it. Since 2009, the manufacturing processes for the traditional plastic bottle now include recycled plastic mixed with cane sugar and molasses.
If it is not yet biodegradable, the Coca-Cola bottle thus becomes fully recyclable. And the brand intends to continue its efforts.
This is done by the term called custom packaging for small business.
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