Recent innovations in packaging get creative and provide consumers with more portable options, sports-themed packaging and, in one case, a ‘Sexier’ rollout.

On-the-go juices
Atlanta-based The Coca-Cola Co.’s Minute Maid juice brand rolled out new 12-ounce single serve bottles for its Minute Maid Enhanced Chilled Juices and Juice Drinks. Minute Maid Pomegranate Lemonade, Strawberry Kiwi and Pomegranate Blueberry flavored 100 percent fruit juice blend of five juices will be available in single-serve bottles. Each variety is enhanced with a combination of vitamins. The 12-ounce single-serve bottles are available nationwide in supermarkets and mass merchandisers for a suggested retail price of $1.59. The company will launch an integrated marketing campaign to support the entire Minute Maid Enhanced product line that will include point of sale, direct consumer engagement initiatives and advertising, the company says. Coca-Cola repackaged its Gold Peak line of iced teas into plastic carafes. Moving away from glass bottles, Gold Peak is now available in portable 18.5-ounce plastic carafes and 59-ounce chilled family size plastic carafe.

Slim cans
Campbell Soup Co., Camden, N.J., released 8-ounce single serving slim cans of V8 V-Fusion 100 percent juices. V8 V-Fusion’s Pomegranate Blueberry and Strawberry Banana varieties will be available in the 8-ounce cans, which provide a full serving of vegetables and a full serving of fruit in each can, the company says. The cans will be sold in six-packs at supermarkets nationwide for $4.99. The 8-ounce cans of V8 V-Fusion juices and 5.5-ounce cans of three varieties of V8 vegetable juice also meet the Alliance for a Healthier Generation’s nutritional requirements for products served in schools, the company says.

Smaller size
Uncle Matt's Organic, Clermont, Fla., debuted a new 6-ounce carton of its organic orange juice. The new 6-ounce version of Uncle Matt's organic pulp-free orange juice offers 90 percent of the recommended daily allowance for vitamin C and features the same signature flavor and nutritional quality available in larger sizes. The carton features a mini gable-top cardboard design with an attached straw.  Each 6-ounce case contains four eight-packs that can be sold as-is or broken apart for single-serve purchase. The suggested retail price for each single-serve is $1, while the eight-pack is recommended to sell for $6.99.

Sports inspired packaging
Red Bull, Santa Monica, Calif., is featuring skier Lindsey Vonn — the 2008 and 2009 Overall World Cup Champion and Olympic gold medal winner of the Women’s Downhill — on a Red Bull six-pack with augmented reality, available on both regular and Sugarfree varieties of the 8.4-ounce cans. Vonn’s likeness is incorporated on the package, and through augmented reality, her personality and athletic achievements will come to life at redbull6pack.com when fans hold the front panel of the package to a webcam. The limited-edition six-pack is available nationwide for $8.99.

The energy drink brand also plans to release a 19.2-ounce Red Bull Racing special edition can in April. The can will be available in regular and Sugarfree varieties and will feature Red Bull Racing’s Brian Vickers and Scott Speed. The 19.2-ounce can will be sold for $4.49 through most of the NASCAR season, the company says.

Commemorative bottle
In honor of the upcoming Kentucky Derby, Woodford Reserve Distillery, Versailles, Ky., introduced a special-edition bottle featuring artwork of the horse race. The commemorative bottle features art by Louisville artist Jeaneen Barnhart. The work depicts Kentucky Derby racehorses as they charge toward the finish line and is featured on the neck of the bottle and an attached neck tag bears information on the artist and the bourbon. The limited edition 1-liter bottle will be available in early April in 42 states at a suggested retail price of $42.99. Woodford Reserve is the official bourbon of the Kentucky Derby, which will be held May 1.

‘Sex and the City 2’ bottle
Gruppo Campari, Milan, and its North American subsidiary Skyy Spirits entered into a comprehensive global marketing deal with Warner Bros. Entertainment for Skyy Vodka to serve as the official vodka and promotional partner for the new film “Sex and the City 2,” debuting in U.S. theaters on May 28. To commemorate the launch of the motion picture, “Sex and the City” Costume Designer Patricia Field will design a limited-edition Skyy Vodka “Sex and the City 2” bottle, which will be available at retailers worldwide in May. This is the first themed design change to the cobalt blue Skyy bottle in the brand’s history, the company says.

Larger import pack
This month, Dos Equis, imported to the United States by Heineken USA, White Plains, N.Y., released an 18-pack for the Texas market. The new pack capitalizes on key trends occurring in the state, including the continued growth of the brand and the increase in consumer take-away of larger import packs, the company says.

Lighter glass bottle
Kona Brewing Co., Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, is packaging its beers in glass bottles that are 11 percent lighter than previous packaging. The company has reduced its bottle weight from 8 ounces to 7.3 ounces for all Kona brands. The new bottle virtually is identical to its old bottle in look and feel, the company says. The reduction in bottle weight will save 3,375 tons of CO2 emitted per year, which equates to taking 511 cars off the road for a year, it says.