The package is made of 18-pt Aqua-coat wet-strength paperboard from Riverwood Intl. (Atlanta, GA), printed in gravure in up to seven colors plus varnish. The 12-pack is produced on either a Quikflex™ or Model 600C packers, also from Riverwood, says Ron Hammond of Coke Consolidated, the second-largest Coke bottler in the United States. The new pack was shipped to stores in North and South Carolina in August. Packs will be shipped to more markets this month, then to the balance of the bottler’s Southeast territories early next year. No change in retail price is expected.
The pack is supplied with a perforated corner section that permits consumers to pick out one can at a time, says Coke spokesman Lauren Steele. The former 4x3 configuration has been around for 20 years, he says, and was designed primarily as a carrying case, since it often doesn’t fit refrigerator shelves.
Separately, Coca-Cola Enterprises, the world’s largest Coke bottler, is testing a similar refrigerator pack that holds 10 cans. Unlike the 12-pack for Coke Consolidated, the 10-pack supplements rather than replaces the conventional 12-pack. (AO)
