Pepsi opts for reduced-plastic beverage bottle

Pepsi brands adds a 500-mL, lightweight, environmentally-friendly bottle for a variety of its flavored, noncarbonated brands, such as Lipton. Turning to structural branding and packaging firm 4sight inc. (www.4sightinc.com), Pepsi devised a premium, proprietary PET package that captures the brand essence of the fast-growing, noncarbonated beverage line. Boasting a 20-percent reduction in plastic and enhanced brand equity, the bottles are produced by Amcor (www.amcor.com), Constar Intl. (www.constar.net) Ball Corp. (www.ball.com) and Plastipak (www.plastipak.com).

“4sight's understanding of the Pepsi culture and our bottling partners enabled them to bring our design objectives across several brands including Lipton, Tropicana, Aquafina FlavorSplash and Aquafina Alive,” says Denise Lefebvre, director of packaging, Research & Development, at Pepsi. “Now we have a lightweight bottle that communicates the message of our noncarbonated brands through a unique design that results in a competitive advantage on the [store] shelf.” Pepsi uses one proprietary design for all of the noncarbonated brands. The bottles feature horizontal waves molded into the design and are easy to grip. The lighter weight enhances the brand image.