Q. What is the Sprite ‘label-less’ trial?

A. This January, we’re launching a temporary UK trial to strip off the labels from our on-the-go 500ml Sprite bottles to help simplify the recycling process. By removing the labels, we remove the need to separate them from the bottles during the recycling process. While existing labels are fully recyclable, stripping them off reduces our use of packaging materials.

The iconic taste of Sprite Regular and Sprite Zero Sugar will remain exactly the same, but these new trial bottles will feature an embossed logo on the front of the pack and laser-engraved product information on the back. And just like our existing bottles, they come in clear, 100% recycled PET bottle* with an attached cap. For the purposes of this trial only, the traffic light labels won’t be visible on the trial bottles, however all of this information will be available through a QR code that will be laser engraved on the bottle.   

This trial will see the labels stripped off our on-the-go 500ml Sprite and Sprite Zero bottles at eight Tesco Express Stores in Brighton and Hove, Bristol, London, and Manchester between January and March 2024. Placing label-less bottles in stores for the first time will help us understand how people react to the new design, and whether any further changes are needed to help people find and identify their favourite Sprite products without the usual labels.

Out of the eight trial stores across Brighton and Hove, Bristol, London, or Manchester – four stores will be stocking the product with accompanying point of sales materials and signage, and the remaining four stores will be stocking the label-less product with no additional marketing. An additional store in each region will not stock the label-less product, but will be utilised as a point of comparison throughout the trial. This will enable us to directly assess the impact of the new bottles, and to see what our retailers and consumers think.

*Excluding cap

 

Q. How will the Sprite bottles change, as a part of the trial?

A. As a part of this temporary UK trial, although the size and shape of the on-the-go 500ml Sprite Regular and Sprite Zero bottles will remain the same as the ones you’re used to seeing in-store, we’re stripping off their labels to help simplify the recycling process.

In place of the label, the new on-the-go trial 500ml bottles will feature an embossed logo on the front of the pack and laser-engraved product information on the back. And, just like our existing bottles, they come in a clear 100% recycled PET bottle* with an attached cap. We’ve also cleverly laser etched all the valuable information you’d expect to see on a label on to the back of the bottle, and this doesn’t interfere with the recycling process. For the purposes of this trial only, the traffic light labels won’t be visible on the bottles, however all of this information will be available through a QR code that will be laser engraved on the bottle.   

Our trial label-less bottles will come in single, on-the-go 500ml formats for both Sprite and Sprite Zero. The two variants are easily distinguished by their caps, which will come in green for Sprite and transparent for Sprite Zero. The bottles can be easily spotted on shelves by their distinctive Heritage Sprite bottle design, with full body dimples and a texturised logo on the neck.

*Excluding cap

 

Q. Why has Coca‑Cola chosen to remove the labels from Sprite bottles?

A. Although the plastic labels that are around our current bottles are recyclable, by removing the labels, we remove the need to separate them from the bottles during the recycling process – a simpler design we want to trial with consumers. As such, we’re stripping off the labels from our on-the-go 500ml Sprite bottles to help simplify the recycling process.

This temporary UK trial is just one of the ways we’re looking to help simplify the recycling process, and support a circular system where more old bottles are turned into new ones. Through Sprite, we’ve tested and launched new ways to evolve our bottle design while ensuring that more of our plastic can be recycled. Recent changes include reducing the use of coloured rPET and introducing attached caps to our bottles. These are all important ways that we aim to minimise the impact of our packaging on the environment.

 

Q. Why isn’t this trial being run on other Coca‑Cola bottles?

A. This design change is one of many we are trialling across our range of drinks. These trials often start small, on one of our products, so that we can capture learnings and understand if, and how, they can be scaled.

Through Sprite, we’ve tested and launched many packaging innovations, to help reduce waste and simplify the recycling process. Small trials - just like this one - have preceded some recent changes to our Sprite bottles, including:

•  Reducing the use of coloured rPET in our packaging, turning Sprite bottles - and others in our range - from green to clear, to make our bottles easier to recycle back into bottles.
• Introducing attached caps to our bottles, ensuring that the cap stays connected to the bottle after opening, to reduce the potential for it to be littered and makes it easier to collect the whole bottle for recycling.

We are also investing in new designs to reduce the amount of packaging we use; creating lightweight bottles and cutting the materials we use when we’re packing our products up and sending them out to stores. And, in the longer term, we are looking at different ways of delivering our drinks to consumers - such as with refillable packaging and dispense systems. 

Through our ambitious World Without Waste strategy, we want to reduce the amount of packaging we use, by focusing on innovation and by collecting and recycling one bottle or can for each one we sell, by 2030.

 

Q. Will the taste of Sprite change, as a part of this trial?

A. No, the iconic taste of Sprite Regular and Sprite Zero Sugar will remain exactly the same.

 

Q. Where and when will we see the Sprite Label-less bottles on shelves in GB?

A. Head down to one of the eight Tesco Express Stores in Brighton and Hove, Bristol, London, or Manchester between January and March 2024 and you will see the labels temporarily stripped back from on-the-go 500ml Sprite and Sprite Zero bottles. Their coloured caps will help tell them apart, and their same great taste is guaranteed.

The Tesco Express store locations are below:

    London:

•  Clerkenwell Central St Express
•  Bishopsgate Express

    Bristol:

• Bristol Express
• Totterdown Express

    Manchester:

• City Towers Mach Express
• Whalley Range Express

    Brighton and Hove:

• Brighton Jubilee Street Express
• Hove Western Road Express

 

Q. Why are you introducing the Label-less bottles as a trial, rather than a permanent change?

A. The process of making any change to our products is complex and requires significant testing. By running this temporary UK trial on our on-the-go 500ml bottles, we want to assess the impact of the new bottle, and see what our retailers and consumers think. We of course hope it will be successful, but we need the learnings from the trial to better understand if - and how - it can be scaled.

 

Q. Why will only four stores across all the trial locations have POS material?

A. We are conducting our label-less Sprite trial across eight Tesco Express Stores in Brighton and Hove, Bristol, London, or Manchester – of which four stores will be stocking the on-the-go 500ml bottles with accompanying point of sales materials and signage, and the remaining four stores will be stocking the label-less product with no additional signage. An additional store in each region will not stock the label-less product, but will be utilised as a point of comparison throughout the trial.  

By having three different points of comparison within each region throughout the trial, we can directly assess the impact of the new bottles, and to see what our retailers and consumers think. We of course hope it will be successful, but we need the learnings from the trial to better understand if - and how - it can be scaled.

 

Q. Are you doing this in GB because of an EU legal requirement?

A. No. We’re committed to finding new ways to evolve our bottle design, help simplify the recycling process and reduce waste, in order to minimise the impact of our packaging on the environment.

 

Q. How long will the trial last?

A. The trial will last from January until March 2024.

 

Q. Will these label-less bottles cost more than the regular Sprite variant?

A. No, we will be keeping the cost of our trial bottles the same as the current on-the-go 500ml bottles of Sprite Regular and Sprite Zero. As with all of our products, pricing is at the discretion of the retailer.

 

Q. Has Coca‑Cola run similar trial schemes in the past? If so, have many of them been successfully rolled-out at a larger scale?

A. This temporary UK trial is one of many that Coca‑Cola has run across our range of drinks. In fact, we’ve run label-less trials in other key markets around the world – with Sprite in South Korea, Coca‑Cola in Japan, and with Valser water in Switzerland. We have already captured important learnings about label-less bottles through these trials and we’re excited to learn more in the UK. Unique to this trial is that this is the first time we’ve trialed label-less on a single-unit on-the-go 500ml bottle sold in-store. Other label-less trials have either been on multi-pack products - where labeling information was moved to the outer packaging - or, on single-unit bottles sold online - where labeling information appeared at the point of sale online.

Finding new ways to evolve our bottle design, help simplify the recycling process and reduce waste are important steps we’re taking to minimise the impact of our packaging on the environment. In fact, small trials - just like this one - have preceded some recent changes to our Sprite bottles, including:

• Reducing the use of coloured rPET in our packaging, turning Sprite bottles - and others in our range - from green to clear, to make our bottles easier to recycle back into bottles.
• Introducing attached caps to our bottles, ensuring that the cap stays connected to the bottle after opening, to reduce the potential for it to be littered and makes it easier to collect the whole bottle for recycling.

We have also run trials that haven’t led to immediate product changes. These trials have still provided us with valuable learnings about potential future changes. They include:

• Collaborating with industry partners to turn ocean plastic waste into high quality rPET, that can be used for food and drink packaging. Although there isn’t enough material to produce these bottles at scale, we are investing in this technology further to identify ways of targeting plastics that are more complicated to recycle.
• We are an official partner of Danish start-up Paboco, who we continue to work with on the development of an 100% paper bottle. Although this technology is in its early stages, and not currently scalable, it’s something that we’re investing in, and hope has a role to play in the future of our packaging.

We are also investing in new designs to reduce the amount of packaging we use, creating lightweight bottles and reducing the materials we use when we’re packing up and sending out to stores. And, in the longer term, we are looking at different ways of delivering our drinks to consumers such as with refillable packaging and dispense systems. 

 

Q. The Sprite label-less advert says ‘Naked For Now’, what does that mean?

A. We’ve included ‘Naked For Now’ in the Sprite label-less adverts to help to explain that we’re stripping off our labels, and that it is, for now, just a temporary UK trial, rather than a permanent change to our product packaging.

We of course hope it will be successful, but we need the learnings from the trial to better understand if - and how - it can be scaled. We want to be clear about that upfront. We’re excited to be running this trial, and to see where it takes us. 

 

Q. How much does Coca‑Cola invest in trials, like this one?

A. The process of making any change to our products is complex and requires significant testing. The amount that we invest in a trial varies, and depends on the nature of the change, the size of it and the technology being tested.

 

Q. How will you determine whether the Sprite label-less trial has been a success, or not?

A. The process of making any change to our products is complex and requires significant testing. We want to assess the impact of the new on-the-go 500ml bottle, and see what our retailers and consumers think.

Small-scale trials like this one have been the precursors to large changes, so we’re excited to be running it, and to see where it takes us. 

 

Q. How can consumers share their feedback on the new label-less bottles?

A. As always, we welcome any consumer feedback through our consumer interaction centre, which can be accessed online, by telephone or by post. As a part of the trial, we want to assess the impact of the new on-the-go 500ml bottle, and see what our retailers and consumers think.  

 

Q. If this trial is successful, how quickly could label-less bottles be rolled out more broadly?

A. It’s hard to say before the trial is completed. We will focus initially on understanding the impact of the new on-the-go 500ml bottle, and see what our retailers and consumers think. 

 

Q. If this trial is successful, will other Coca‑Cola brands go ‘label-less’?

A. It’s hard to say before the trial is completed. We will focus initially on understanding the impact of the new on-the-go 500ml bottle, and see what our retailers and consumers think. 

 

Q. If this trial is unsuccessful, what will happen to this innovation – is this the end for label-less bottles?

A. It’s hard to comment before the trial is completed. As a part of the trial, we want to assess the impact of the new on-the-go 500ml bottle, and see what our retailers and consumers think.  If it is unsuccessful, we will feed any insights into future innovations and trials.

 

Q. What is the technology behind the Sprite label-less trial?

A. There are two pieces of technology behind this trial - the use of fibre lasers and laser engraving – and this trial is the first time these two technologies have been used in a pilot globally. These innovative technologies have enabled us to strip off the labels from our on-the-go 500ml Sprite bottles and replace them with an embossed logo on the front of the pack and laser-engraved product information on the back. We’ve also cleverly laser etched all the valuable information you’d expect to see on a label on to the back of the bottle, which doesn’t interfere with the recycling process.

While we’ve run label-less trials in other key markets around the world – with Sprite in South Korea, Coca‑Cola in Japan, and Valser water in Switzerland, this trial is the first in Great Britain, and is the first time we’ve trialed label-less on a single-unit bottle sold in-store for any of our core brands.

 

Q. How long has this technology been in development for?

A. There are two pieces of technology behind this trial; fibre lasers, to laser engrave our on-the-go 500ml trial bottles, and innovative molds, to emboss them. Fiber lasers have been commercially available for a few years, but this trial is enabling us to test an approach that increases their speed and use of space on our filling lines, and the potential to operate different lasers on one control unit.

 

Q. How much less packaging do the new label-less bottles use?

A. The trial label-less on-the-go 500ml bottles of Sprite Regular and Sprite Zero will be made with 100% rPET* – which represents a 32% reduction in CO2e use, vs. virgin plastic (94gr CO2e vs 64gr CO2e per bottle). The removal of the recyclable plastic label also equates to a saving of 2.8 kg of CO2e for every 1,000 label-less bottles produced.

*Excluding cap

This trial innovation represents a small plastic reduction of about 2% - by weight, per bottle*. This reduction accounts for the bottle, cap and the label.

Although this reduction may seem modest, we’ve tested and launched many packaging innovations, to help reduce waste and simplify the recycling process. We are also investing in new designs to reduce the amount of packaging we use; creating lightweight bottles and cutting the materials we use when we’re packing our products up and sending them out to stores. And, in the longer term, we are looking at different ways of delivering our drinks to consumers - such as with refillable packaging and dispense systems. 

Through our ambitious World Without Waste strategy, we want to reduce the amount of packaging we use, by focusing on innovation and by collecting and recycling one bottle or can for each one we sell, by 2030.

*Across the bottle (18.0gr) cap (2.0gr) and label (0.5gr), depending on each bottle’s weight. 

                                         

Q. Although the Sprite label-less trial bottles remove a piece of packaging, don’t they use more energy?

A. As this is a small and early-stage trial, it is hard to assess whether the creation of label-less on-the-go 500ml bottles will use more energy in comparison with our current product format. This will also be considered as part of the trial. As a part of our global sustainable packaging ambition – to achieve a World Without Waste – we are focused on every part of our products’ packaging lifecycle. Our products’ energy footprints are a crucial part of this focus.

 

Q. Does this new bottle embossing technology have an impact on product integrity?

A. No, it doesn’t have any impact on product integrity. The quality and iconic taste of Sprite Regular and Sprite Zero Sugar will remain exactly the same.

 

Q. Where will the trial Sprite label-less bottles be made?

A. The trial on-the-go 500ml Sprite label-less bottles will be produced, embossed and engraved in a few innovative factories across Europe, before being shipped to their destination in Great Britain. We have worked closely with our partners to make the most of this emerging technology, and bring it to our consumers in Great Britain. 

 

Q. How many bottles will be produced for sale, as a part of this trial?

A. This trial will see the labels stripped off 5,000 on-the-go 500ml Sprite and 5,000 on-the-go 500ml Sprite Zero bottles. The label-less bottles will be available for purchase at eight Tesco Express Stores in Brighton and Hove, Bristol, London, and Manchester between January and March 2024.

 

Q. How else has the Sprite bottle changed in recent years?

This trial is just the latest change we have made to Sprite bottles, and others across our range of drinks, in order to help simplify the recycling process and reduce waste.

For example, we have reduced the use of coloured rPET in our packaging, to make our bottles easier to recycle back into bottles; turning Sprite bottles and others in our range from green to clear. And, last year we introduced attached caps to our bottles, ensuring that the cap stays connected to the bottle after opening, to reduce the potential for it to be littered and makes it easier to collect the whole bottle for recycling.

We are also investing in new designs to reduce the amount of packaging we use, creating lightweight bottles and reducing the materials we use when we’re packing up and sending out to stores. And, in the longer term we are looking at different ways of delivering our drinks to consumers such as with refillable packaging and dispense systems. 

 

Q. With the roll-out of DRS on the horizon in the UK, will the planned reverse vending machines be able to read these bottles?

A. To ensure more packaging is collected for recycling, we’ve long supported the introduction of a well-designed Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) across Great Britain, to reduce litter and enable more packaging to be collected and recycled.  With DRS’ introduction in Great Britain now planned for October 2025, any product innovations will need to work with the planned DRS technology.

We understand that a core component of the DRS technology will be reverse vending machines, which will require all bottles to be scannable, and readable. This is something that we will plan for in more detail, if the trial is successful.  

 

Q. Why isn’t Coca‑Cola doing more on packaging?

A. We have stepped up our ambition for a World Without Waste by accelerating our commitment to collect, recycle and reuse our packaging. We want to use less packaging where we can, and for the packaging we do use, our goal is that 100% is collected, reused, or recycled, to create a circular economy where none of our packaging ends up as litter, in our oceans or environment. 

We have a clear vision for a World Without Waste, which includes ambitious global goals to help eliminate packaging waste as we work towards finding the most sustainable ways for people to enjoy our drinks, that are right for them and right for the planet. Our ultimate vision is to help collect and recycle a bottle or can, for each one we sell, by 2030. We are working hard to meet these targets and are committed to going further, faster, wherever possible.  

 

Q. Will Sprite Zero and Regular variants be easily distinguishable, without their labels?

A. Yes, the two variants are easily distinguished by their caps, which will come in green for Sprite and transparent for Sprite Zero. The trial on-the-go 500ml label-less bottles can also be easily spotted on shelves by their distinctive Heritage Sprite bottle design, with full body dimples and a texturised logo on the neck.

Although the new bottles we are trialling come with their labels stripped off, they will feature an embossed logo on the front of the pack and laser-engraved product information on the back. And just like our existing bottles, they come in clear, 100% recycled PET bottle* with an attached cap. We’ve also cleverly laser etched all the valuable information you’d expect to see on a label on to the back of the bottle, which doesn’t interfere with the recycling process.

At four of the eight stores taking part in the trial, the new bottles will be accompanied with accompanying point of sales materials and signage to draw people’s attention to the new design. At the remaining four stores, the label-less product will appear with no additional signage. An additional store in each region will not stock the label-less product, but will be utilised as a point of comparison throughout the trial.  By having three different points of comparison within each region throughout the trial, we can directly assess the impact of the new bottles, and to see what our retailers and consumers think.

*Excluding cap.

 

Q. How can consumers with health concerns / consumers with allergies / diabetic consumers be sure that they’re choosing the Sprite variant that’s right for them?

A. Making sure that our consumers with health concerns / consumers with allergies / diabetic consumers are able to confidently choose the product that’s right for them is incredibly important to us.

Labels contain valuable information for consumers, but with the help of technology we can now trial other ways to share this information while reducing our use of packaging materials. In place of the label, the new trial bottles will feature an embossed logo on the front of the pack and laser-engraved product information on the back. And just like our existing bottles, they come in clear, 100% recycled PET bottle* with an attached cap. We’ve also cleverly laser etched all the valuable information you’d expect to see on a label on to the back of the bottle, which doesn’t interfere with the recycling process.

Our trial label-less bottles will come in single, on-the-go 500ml formats for both Sprite and Sprite Zero. The two variants are easily distinguished by their caps, which will come in green for Sprite and transparent for Sprite Zero, with product descriptions also clearly printed on the cap. The bottles can be easily spotted on shelves by their distinctive Heritage Sprite bottle design, with full body dimples and a texturised logo on the neck.

*Excluding cap.

 

Q. Will the usual traffic light nutritional labelling be visible on these new bottles?

A. For the purposes of this trial only, the traffic light labels won’t be visible on the on-the-go 500ml trial bottles, however all of this information will be available through a QR code that will be laser engraved on the bottle.

 

Q. Can the caps be fully recycled, even if they are coloured plastic?

A. The caps remain fully recyclable. The colour of the caps does not affect the ability for them to be recycled alongside the on-the-go 500ml bottle they are attached to.