Crown and Coca Cola unveil first commercial use of thermochromic ‘reveal’ ink

Crown have teamed-up with Coca-Cola to deliver the world’s first commercial use of thermochromic ‘reveal’ ink on cans across several of its products as competition for consumer attention and loyalty intensifies in the popular beverage market.

Brands are increasingly turning to packaging to achieve differentiation on retail shelves and enhance engagement. To deliver an interactive experience to consumers before, during and after consumption, Coca-Cola has rolled out cans of Coke, Coke Zero, Fanta and Sprite in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia featuring Reveal temperature sensitive inks.

The result of collaboration between Crown Bevcan Europe & Middle East and Chromatic Technologies Inc. (CTI), Reveal inks allow graphics to change to ‘reveal’ specific imagery and messaging during consumption. Two thermochromic inks appear at the same time when the can is cold, but as the cold product is consumed, one ink disappears. This technology provides one ambient ‘original’ image, one ‘cold’ image and as the consumer drinks the contents of the can, a third image appears, offering the perfect vehicle to hide a message.

Coca-Cola featured four specific messages - one per brand – to engage with its customers in a fun, unique manner. Cans are decorated to include either a person or cartoon-style animal, from which a speech bubble emanates to hold the thermochromic messaging which appears when the can is chilled. An interactive quick response (QR) code beneath the image links to exclusive video content, driving traffic to the brand’s website. The application represents the first commercial use of Reveal inks.

Crown is one of the world’s leading metal packaging companies, with operations in 36 countries employing over 24,000 people and net sales of $8.3 billion. They operate across Asia, Eastern Europe, South America and the Middle East and North Africa. Crown’s packaging solutions are focused on generating brand value and recognition for clients through innovation in metal production.