Coca-Cola Leads Packaging Innovation in Singapore

The contoured plastic bottle was introduced to the beverage industry 20 years ago and heralded the biggest breakthrough in packaging innovation. Today Coca-Cola unveils the Next Big Thing: The Fridge Pack, which stacks an 8-pack of soft drink cans into a long, narrow package with an opening that dispenses individual cans.

The contoured plastic bottle was introduced to the beverage industry 20 years ago and heralded the biggest breakthrough in packaging innovation. Today Coca-Cola unveils the Next Big Thing: The Fridge Pack, which stacks an 8-pack of soft drink cans into a long, narrow package with an opening that dispenses individual cans. First test marketed in the spring of 2001, the Fridge Pack was recently adopted by Coke's largest bottler in the United States and now it is available to Singaporeans as well. Research on how to better package soft drinks cans and have them chilled for home consumption began four years ago by major packaging suppliers to the beverage industry. Using a technique called ethnographic research, which includes watching people's behavior on a typical day in their typical environment, researchers followed people to the grocery store, observing their purchases and how the purchases were stored at home. The researchers soon realized that the suitcase package was actually hindering the use of cans. People tended to put several cans in the refrigerator, then store the remaining cans in a cabinet or closet. When all the refrigerated cans were used, people usually chose another drink from the refrigerator instead of retrieving a can from the package. They had to find a way to get all the cans into the refrigerator. One of those ideas became the Fridge Pack. Coca-Cola agreed to try it. Coke had been studying similar ideas at its new product and package innovation division since at least 1994. Coke suggested a few modifications to improve the functionality of the package. Coca-Cola in the US, Hong Kong and Australia are currently selling versions of the Fridge Pack. "It's clearly the wave of the future," said June Kong, Public Affairs & Communications Manager, F&N Coca-Cola (Singapore). "It is smart, space-saving and guarantees a steady supply of ice-cold Coke in a country where 'cocooning' is becoming a trend people holed up at home with their computers and home entertainment systems on weekends." The Coca-Cola Fridge Pack retails at $5.25 per 8-can pack.