Launched in the U.K. in February, the alcoholic soda product has a clear front label with only the Decoda name that's printed to look like an old-fashioned hand-pressed label tape. The 2-mil biaxially oriented polypropylene front and side screen-printed labels are supplied by Spear (Mason, OH). Most interesting is that the front label allows the Decoda name to be seen from either the front or through the back of the bottle. To create such an effect, Spear surface-prints the word "Decoda" backwards. Next is a rectangular bar or strip of black ink that covers the word. Finally comes the "correct" brand name printed in white on top of the black strip. Spear says only screen printing will allow enough white ink to be laid down to prevent the black from bleeding through. The rest of the 2"x3" front label remains unprinted except for the words "alcoholic soda" and "5.3% Vol." at the bottom. A side label contains a UPC bar code. Filled in a 330-mL bottle, the beverage was launched as part of a new but rapidly growing category of lemonades and colas that contain alcohol. "What we're finding is that retailers are beginning to put all these products together to make a little section in their store because it's new and interesting," says Julian Todd, marketing director.
