BLOG IN A BOTTLE

For a 96 year old, the iconic Coca Cola bottle is still looking fantastic. The design was created in response to a competition for a new Coca Cola bottle. The competition specified that the bottle had to be recognisable both in the dark, and if it was broken.

The original design (left) featured a middle that was wider than the base. However, this proved impractical in production and the design was modified to the slimmer version (right) we know, and love, today.

The bottle’s unique green colour was a complete accident. It came from the minerals in the sand that was used as the source for the first bottles. Both the design and the colour are now registered trademarks.

Accident or not, one thing is certain:  a lot of people simply love the Coca-Cola glass bottle as we know it today. So we wouldn’t actually like to call it an accident, but more a godsend.

Which makes us wonder: how do you like your Coca-Cola? In glass, plastic or can? Vote on our Facebook page now!

The iconic Coca-Cola bottle has been one of the world’s most easily recognised packaging products since it was first designed in 1915. Coca-Cola celebrates its 125^th anniversary this year and has decided to reintroduce the iconic glass bottle for the summer of 2011.

Another company celebrating an important milestone this year is Heinz. First launched in 1876, Heinz’s Tomato Ketchup will also be sold in glass bottles during summer 2011 to mark 135 years of production. That will be the first time Heinz have used glass since the 1990s, although the familiar glass bottle is still available in restaurants.

Glass fact: Did you know that the brief for the design of the Coca-Cola bottle included the instructions that the bottle should be immediately recognisable both in the dark, and if it was broken?

The symbolic Coca-Cola glass bottle, equally as famous as the soft drink itself, is making a comeback!

The unique design of the Coca-Cola glass bottle was created in 1915, when the Coca-Cola Company launched a competition among its bottle suppliers to create a new bottle for the beverage that would distinguish it from other bottles.

The specification given to the designers was to craft, “a bottle which a person could recognize even if they felt it in the dark”.

Something that seemed an impossible challenge back then can now be described as one of the best examples of distinctive branding.

The so called “contour” design, also known as the “hobble skirt” can be easily crowned as the world’s most recognised glass bottle.

To mark its 125th anniversary the company decided to roll out a new multi-platform “retro” campaign and we love the idea of a limited edition Coca-Cola glass bottle range. These special edition bottles (pictured) will be available to buy at Selfridges.

Just thinking about it now, what could be a better drink for a hot summer’s day than a chilled glass bottle of Coca-Cola, right?

Nice read over at Esquire magazine, questioning whether the world’s favourite drink actually does taste better in glass.

[The] answer to the glass bottle’s success probably lies in the chemical compositions of the respective vessels. Plastic bottles are made using a polymer called Polyethylene Terephthalate. Aluminium cans are made using, err, aluminium, but with an inside coating of Epoxy Resin, a compound used to make airline wings – good old Coke.

Epoxy Resin absorbs small amounts of flavour from liquids it comes into contact with, and Polyetheylene Terephthalate release small quantities of acetaldehyde into drinks. Glass, by contrast, is essentially inert and has pretty much no effect on the composition of the drink.

Another possible explanation is the fact that UV light does cause limited degradation to drinks. Glass’s superiority to plastic could be down to its UV filtering capabilities. And we thought it was all down to that Coca Cola magic.

And of course, there’s that iconic bottle. It’s still a beauty after all these years.

But, according to Coke:

“The great taste of Coca-Cola is the same regardless of the package it comes in. The particular way that people choose to enjoy their Coke can affect their perception of taste.” (source)

Given a choice, what would you drink?

Hailed as the ‘next generation’ of Coke Bottles, take a look at these re-thought square plastic bottles.

At a glance, each one:

• Has a 25% slimmer cap, which reduces PET plastic waste drastically
• Is 25% more efficient with a smaller footprint by design, making the transportation of bottles more efficient
• Has a collapsible design once you’ve drunk what’s inside
• Is 100% plant-based, made from sugar cane by-products
• Has a smaller carbon footprint

A few weeks ago, we brought you news of the glass vs plastic wine bottle debate, in which folk also lauded the ‘lower’ carbon footprint which bottles like these offer the world.

Of course, any attempt to be ‘greener’ is a good start. But just because something yields a lower carbon footprint, it doesn’t necessarily make it greener when other issues, like 100% recylability and sustainability, come into play.

What do you think?

We all love our Coke, yes? Interesting debate over at Popsci on whether the actual flavour of the drink is any different dependant on if it’s in glass, plastic or tin.

Coca-Cola say no way.

“The great taste of Coca-Cola is the same regardless of the package it comes in. The particular way that people choose to enjoy their Coke can affect their perception of taste.”

Food technologists say otherwise:

“The polymer that lines aluminum cans might absorb small amounts of soluble flavor from the soda.  Conversely, acetaldehyde in plastic bottles might migrate into the soda [which could] alter flavour.”

So, if you’re a Coke purist (and you’ll know if you are when you shiver at the mention of ‘New Coke‘), the technologists and pharmacists say that you’re better off drinking it from a glass bottle.

What’s your verdict?