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Consumers drive new 12-pack shape

Last summer, one Coca-Cola canner set out to change the shape of 12-pack paperboard carriers, and Coke Consolidated is now reaping the rewards.

With its unique dispensing feature, the Fridge Pack works well in home refrigerators.
With its unique dispensing feature, the Fridge Pack works well in home refrigerators.

Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated, Charlotte, NC, sensed a big opportunity when it learned about a new 12-pack can carrier that Coke USA had been testing. The pack, called the Fridge Vendor by Riverwood Intl. (Atlanta, GA), is a 6x2 can configuration, rather than the conventional 4x3.

This allows the entire 12-pack to be easily kept on a shelf in the consumer’s refrigerator, and a perforated corner section permits easy dispensing of the soft drink cans. Supplied by Riverwood, the multipacks are made of 18-pt Aquacoat wet-strength paperboard, printed gravure in four to seven colors, depending on the brand graphics.

The pack was designed to run on one of Riverwood’s multipackers, and most of the plants operated by Coke Consolidated had those machines in place. At Charlotte, the first plant to try the new pack, a relatively new (early 2000) Quikflex Model 600C Riverwood machine was first to be converted.

The key to the project was the extremely favorable results the new pack showed in consumer testing conducted by Coke USA. “Based on this research—and our willingness to change the way the game is played—that’s how we decided to make this a 100-percent replacement throughout our company,” says Norman George, senior vice president and chief marketing and customer officer.

Shifting to a new 12-pack, which Coke Consolidated calls Fridge Pack, is truly a big deal for the company. In the past, 12-packs had represented 45% or more of its can volume, and since the introduction of the Fridge Pack, that percentage is increasing. When pressed for specifics, George says, “I’m somewhat reluctant to talk about our experience with this pack, because I don’t want to tip off our competition.” He did say that consumer preference for this pack is “off the chart,” compared to the 4x3 configured 12-pack.

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