The Coca-Cola Co., in collaboration with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), turned its iconic red cans white in support of providing help to protect polar bears’ Arctic habitat. The cans feature the image of a mother bear and her two cubs traveling across the Arctic below the brand’s signature script logo printed in red. Bottles of Coca-Cola brands will feature white caps in support of the cause. The Coca-Cola Co. is making an initial donation of $2 million to WWF. Each package will carry a code that consumers can text to donate $1 to WWF. The Coca-Cola Co. will match all donations made with a package code by March 15, up to a total of $1 million. The white packaging will be available on store shelves through February.

From cans to bottles

Code Blue, a zero-calorie, all-natural functional beverage, was originally introduced in cans. After discovering that consumers were mistaking the product for an energy drink, the company moved the product from cans to 12-ounce PET bottles. The bottles feature shrink sleeves from Overnight Labels, which allowed the brand to maintain the sleek and brilliant look of the can, the company says. The neck and bottom of each bottle feature a different color to indicate flavor and variety differentiation.

Artistic labeling

Kenwood Vineyards introduced a new wine to its Artist Series. The 2007 Kenwood Vineyards Artist Series Cabernet Sauvignon label features “Kenwood Rose,” a work created specially for Kenwood Vineyards by artist Dave Kinsey. With paintings that have been exhibited in galleries and museums worldwide, Kinsey uses a range of mediums to create textured works that reflect the convolution of contemporary life. With “Kenwood Rose,” Kinsey uses expressive brushstrokes in the illustration while remaining true to his bold color palette of reds and blacks, the company says.

Premium packaging

LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton S.A., Paris, launched the limited-edition Hennessy Privilege NyX Collector bottle — the second in the brand’s Privilege Collection. The bottle is re-cast in a translucent platinum glass with metallic purple trim inspired by a starry night, the company says. Logos etched in luminescent ink adorn the label, collar and cork, and are visible only under a black light. Each Hennessy Privilege NyX bottle will be marked with a number of authenticity, as well as a flash code tag that can be scanned by smartphones to unlock access to Hennessy’s mobile hub.

Beer redesign

Heineken USA announced that the bottles, cans and secondary packaging for its Dos Equis Lager and Dos Equis Ambar brands have been redesigned. Changes to the bottles and cans include an updated typeface of the iconic “XX” and rays on the front label to increase brand visibility; a profile of Aztec leader Moctezuma facing left to right, representing the brand’s momentum and forward thinking; and the addition of a heritage line on the front label to highlight Dos Equis’ story, the company says. Changes to Dos Equis’ secondary packaging design include a front-facing brand logo and a background with various images and text that communicate the brand’s heritage and authenticity. The addition of the Dos Equis bottle and the hand-blown draught glass to the side panel highlights the beer’s color, strengthens the visual appeal and helps to distinguish the differences between Dos Equis Lager and Dos Equis Ambar, the company adds.

Holiday packs

Pernod Ricard USA launched its 2011 holiday lineup in specialty packaging designed to help retailers drive incremental sales during the year’s busiest selling season, the company says. Absolut Vodka and Absolut Citron are available in “glimmer bottles” in 750-ml. and 1-liter sizes.

Packaging expertise

Lucky Dog Vodka Inc., Nantucket, Mass., teamed with Saxco International Inc. to develop the packaging for new Lucky Dog Vodka. Saxco sourced and supplied a super flint 750-ml. bottle with rounded shoulders, medium neck and thick flat bottom from Piramal Glass. It then tapped Innovative Labeling Solutions to create the front and back blue and red pressure-sensitive labels for the bottles. Signature Label was brought into the mix to apply the labels and to repackage the 12-pack shipping cartons into six-packs. International Paper produced the white shipping cartons imprinted with decorative red and blue graphics, as well as the six-bottle corrugated separations. The bottle was finished with a synthetic cork from Gultig, a Saxco supplier in Germany. The cork was over-fitted with a perforated dark blue PVC sleeve embossed with a red dog paw on top and a screened dark blue paw on the side with red LDV lettering imprinted underneath. Saxco called upon Maverick to fulfill that portion of the project.

Luxe packaging

Cosfibel and Diageo Reserve created the Johnnie Walker Blue Label collection for bars and Duty Free markets. “The Chiller” package includes a 750-ml. bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue Label. “The Cube” features a 750-ml. bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue Label, four crystal glasses and brushed stainless steel ice tongs engraved with the words “Striding Man.” A luminous version also is available for bars, hotels and restaurants. The “Mini Cube” includes a 750-ml. bottle of the whisky, two crystal glasses and brushed stainless steel ice tongs. Plastic-injected cases are half-covered in leather with stitching that runs the length of the cases to highlight the actuators that trigger the cases’ opening. Through embossing, a simple brushed metal plaque features the Porsche Design Studio logo cast in leather. The case’s modern design is reinforced by a stainless-steel cap, which was first soldered in order to show the sharp angles before being micro-brushed, silkscreened with the Johnnie Walker Blue Label brand and having the JWS monogram laser-applied. The inside of the caps, which feature double-frosted injected plastic, double as ice buckets, the company says.