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A number of major beverage and spirit brands continue to adopt QR to connect with customers, while one whisky company is even helping them to disconnect through packaging.
Coca-Cola has another new flavour, this one a collaboration with masked DJ and music producer Marshmello. It is the third product out of the innovation platform Coca-Cola Creations and, rather than marshmallow it has notes of strawberry and watermelon, according to the company.
The new flavour is getting the full Coca-Cola Creations digital treatment. On July 9, it appeared on Marshmello’s Twitch channel. Starting on July 25, consumers were able to scan a QR code on the can to reach Coca-Cola Creations’ site. There, “AI technology will transform their emotions while listening to Marshmello’s latest track into a personalized piece of digital art,” said the company.
The new flavor, which also comes in a zero-sugar variety, is now available in the USA for a limited time. It will be offered in other countries later this summer. The electronic music producer was revealed several years ago to be Christopher Comstock. He continues to wear a marshmallow-like cylindrical mask in public.
Meanwhile, Rio Tinto has announced, in partnership with Corona Canada, the launch of Canada’s first specially-marked, low-carbon beverage can, manufactured by Ball Corporation.
The cans, now available through a pilot in Ontario, were made using aluminium from Rio Tinto and leveraging ELYSIS™ technology, which eliminates all direct greenhouse gas emissions from the aluminium smelting process and emits oxygen as its by-product. As part of this limited release, 1.2 million cans were produced with a QR code to inspire consumers to learn more about the cans’ low carbon footprint.
Putting sustainability at the forefront, Jameson 18 Years Irish whiskey will now be presented in new, lightweight packaging with the original box redesigned as fully recyclable cardboard complete with foiled accents. The packaging redesign aligns to Irish Distillers’ and Pernod Ricard’s broader sustainability commitments by focusing on minimising waste at every step by fostering and applying a circular mindset across the business.
In addition, the new packaging will feature a scannable QR code which will direct Jameson fans to a virtual guided tasting hosted by the Master Distiller, Kevin O’Gorman.
Brendan Buckley, global marketing director at Irish Distillers, commented, “Over the past number of years, we as a business have been successful in devising and implementing new ways of reducing the environmental impact of our packaging through redesign and experimentation with new materials, all of which is reflected in the updated Jameson 18 Years packaging.”
Many adults are tempted to check their mobile phones while socialising, or even get distracted by someone else’s screen lighting up at the table. In an unusual twist, Glengoyne whisky aims to curb these temptations and distractions with its The Offline Edition whisky box, which doubles as a digital ‘black spot.’
Based on the original Faraday cage invented by scientist Michael Faraday in 1836, the secondary packaging—which holds a 700ml bottle of Glengoyne Legacy Series: Chapter Three whisky—includes an aluminum inner cylinder that can block out electromagnetic signals for up to four smartphones. Glengoyne hopes to bring back the joy of connection and in-person communication while helping consumers temporarily disconnect from their digital lives.
This article was created in collaboration with AIPIA (the Active and Intelligent Packaging Industry Association). Packaging Europe and AIPIA are joining forces to bring news and commentary about the active and intelligent packaging landscape to a larger audience. To learn more about this partnership, click here.
AIPIA’s return to live events in October has already attracted a stellar line up of industry speakers for the USA Smart Packaging Summit, which takes place during Pack Expo international in Chicago’s McCormick place on 25th October.
True Pedigree, a technology company helping brands protect themselves from losing revenue due to counterfeit and grey market products, has launched GenuScan, which it claims is a ‘powerful’ new platform that lets users determine the provenance, destination, and legitimacy of products by scanning them via a smartphone.
How connected are sustainability and smart packaging, and what does the future hold for partnerships between these two fields? Andrew Manly, AIPIA’s communications director, looks into this in our latest comment piece.
Stora Enso has completed the divestment of its Nymölla paper production site and all related assets to US-based uncoated paper producer Sylvamo – a move hoped to allow the company to narrow its focus to expanding its renewable packaging portfolios, biomaterial innovations, and building solutions.
Tim Hortons is seeking to improve its packaging’s recyclability by trialling a fibre alternative to its single-use plastic hot beverage lids, amongst other transitions into renewable and recyclable packaging materials.
More than 28 billion RAIN RFID chips were deployed in 2021 and it’s expected that the market for these tags will have reached 35 billion by the end of 2022. The majority of these chips are low-cost 3-cent 96-bit RFID “product ID tags” used in supply chain logistics for retailers, performing a similar function as the barcode from the 1970s, but with the benefit that they read through a box at a speed of 1,000 items (tags) per second.
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