Recently, PepsiCo announced that it will launch the first "bottle-free" Pepsi Cola in China in April. This is the first time that PepsiCo has launched a bottle-free product in the Chinese market, which also means that PepsiCo will become one of the first companies to launch bottle-free beverage products in the Chinese market. "No bottle label" Coke, not without brand recognition, Pepsi Cola in the bottle body and cap respectively removed the plastic label and ink printing, the overall retention of the classic patent bottle design. The bottle is presented in relief, and information such as the product name and shelf life is printed using laser technology.
In addition to PepsiCo's "unlabeled" beverage bottles, Master Kong's iced black tea and sugar-free iced black tea have already opened the curtain of domestic label-free products. In foreign countries, this kind of labelless practice has long been prevalent. Brands have "torn labels", is it really for environmental protection?
I. What is "unlabeled"?
Drinks generally include the bottle body and the label paper around the bottle, the so-called "unlabeled", that is, to tear off the label paper, the necessary information is printed on the bottle. From the production point of view, replacing labeling with printing and engraving is not a matter of saving or laboriousness. From the perspective of recycling, the general recycling to tear off the label only to recover the bottle body, label paper can not be reused, many views believe that "de-labeling", the biggest value is environmental protection.
Label is the most core of product packaging publicity window, is an important carrier to consumers to advertise, the label design of major manufacturers, are painstaking, such as Nongfu Spring and other classic brands, will continue brand recognition, maintain long-term brand continuity, such as Yuanqi Forest and other cutting-edge brands, will be important information on the label, become a weapon to attract consumers' attention.
Tearing off the label seems to be doing the opposite.
Which beverage brands are "tearing off the label"?
Delabeled products, first appeared in Japan,
In 2019, Japan's Asahi Beverage Company launched label-free packaging. The official website leaflet tells the original intention of this design: in Japan, where the garbage classification and recycling standards are relatively strict, the non-recyclable labels on the bottles and the recyclable bottles should be treated separately. In order to facilitate the handling of users, Asahi corporation has launched a series of new packaging products without tearing labels.
In July 2020, mineral water brand Evian also launched a "renewable bottle", the three materials used in the bottle are typical recyclable plastics. At the same time of "tearing off the label", the innovative use of embossed micro-labels, the product information is directly engraved on the bottle body, evian brand is still clearly recognizable.
Coca-Cola also joined the unlabeled army in 2021, launching its first unlabeled PET bottle called "Coca-Cola Contour Label Free" in South Korea. This PET bottle does not have any label on the bottle body, and the product information is listed on the secondary packaging. This product is available in two types: original Coca-Cola and Coca-Cola Zero, and different products are distinguished according to the color of the bottle cap.
In early 2022, Nestlé Japan also launched "unlabeled" coffee. The coffee is designed with unlabeled PET bottles and sold as a whole in the form of 12 bottles per carton, with labels such as ingredient names printed on the box, recycling marks embossed on the PET bottle body, and labels on the cap indicating the product type.
In the domestic market, in mid-February this year, Master Kong launched the first unlabeled drink in China. Master Kong's 330ml iced tea and sugar-free iced tea have launched unlabeled PET bottle packaging with the main low-carbon concept in the master Kong beverage flagship store. Because of the special color of this iced black tea, it ushered in a lot of controversy in the early stage of listing.
Three brands remove paper labels and label them with invisible labels
"Carbon neutrality" and "carbon peak" have become hot topics nowadays, all walks of life are exploring the sustainable development path of plastics and plastic products, the beverage industry is no exception, environmental protection, carbon standards are the driving force for labeling.
However, as a terminal live advertisement presented by the brand information, the retention of label paper is not a simple environmental protection issue that can be decided, and the brand recognition is the most core consideration. Especially after environmental protection and carbon compliance occupy the moral high ground, a beverage will often receive media and consumer attention after removing the label, which will also bring a lot of additional exposure and positive publicity to the brand.
In addition, for some of the large brands that have become famous, their bottles have a high degree of recognition, bottle personality plus personalized brand elements, they do not rely on label paper to do the final brand image, one of the brand theories is that the brand only needs to expose some elements, it is enough to make consumers think of products and brands, this is a successful brand, such as Coca-Cola's classic curved glass bottle and classic red and white color.
After removing the paper label, the manufacturer instead stood out on the shelves of a number of inner rolls, marking themselves with a green, environmentally friendly "invisible label", this universally recognized positive value, but also gave consumers a reason to choose, coupled with the fact that there is no weakened brand recognition after the label, manufacturers are not afraid of or even reject this wind and fire to label movement.