Specialty packaging continues to serve a dual purpose, both as a growth driver in beverage cans and as a means to tout the healthy consumption of a product not known for its nutritional value. Cocacola co. Is the latest to enlist in the portioncontrol campaign, one waged for the past several years by brand owners such as fritolay and its smaller, 100calorie snack foods in plastic bags. For atlanta based cocacola, it plans by march to roll out nationwide its coke mini cans in 7.5oz containers, another departure from its traditional, 12oz standardbearer. The cans, packaged in eightpacks, are touted as only containing 90 calories and will be made by broomfield, cobased ball and possibly others. While the can shape is not as revolutionary, the diameter for the new can is even slimmer than that used by ball&rsquos sleek cans for heineken and other beverages. Specialty beverage cans have been major growth drivers at ball, even as the overall can category remains fairly flat. Ball has gone smaller with its cans, releasing small cans for starbucks&rsquo doubleshot, and producing a variety of 8.4oz cans for enhanced juice drinks. Coke&rsquos plan to move into smallerportion can sizes is part of its recent commitment to put calorie counts on all of its packaging. In a market where soft drinks continue to decline in sales in favor of potentially healthier alternatives, cocacola&rsquos solution attempts to make drinkers work harder to ingest as much. The news is fairly healthy for can makers seeing continued upward trends in specialty packaging.
