From:Packaging News

The Coca-Cola bottle is 100 years old this week – packaging that is arguably as iconic as the brand name itself.

The first bottle was produced after the owners launched a design competition in the USA – won by and won by the Root Glass Company of Terre Haute, Indiana.

In 1915 glass manufacturing on an industrial scale was still new and manufacturers often fell prey to defective bottles damaged and chipped.

The original design was a cocoa-pod plant based shape, with a distinct top heavy bulge – thinner at the bottom, but thicker through the middle, with rounded ridges tracing the bottle’s length – and began to be known as the ‘contour’ bottle.

This was modified over the years but the basic shape of the bottle (with a smaller bulge) and its iconic grooved ridges were retained.

The soft drink giant has also, over the years, focused production on more easily manufactured and recycled versions of the bottle.

While Coke is now most often found in aluminium cans or plastic bottles, the iconic bottle continues to be strongly identified with the brand.

Timeline

1899 – Coca-Cola first bottled under contract in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

1906 – Amber-coloured and clear straight-sided bottles with an embossed logo are used by bottlers across the USA.

1915 – The Coca-Cola contour bottle is patented in 1915 by the Root Glass Company of Terre Haute, Indiana.

1923 – The six-pack bottle carrier is developed by the Coca-Cola system to encourage consumers to enjoy the drink at home.

1941 – During WWII Coca-Cola President Robert Woodruff announces that “every man in uniform gets a bottle of Coca‑Cola for five cents, wherever he is, and whatever it costs the company.”

1950 – Coca-Cola becomes the first commercial product to appear on the cover of Time magazine.

1955 – Coca-Cola is expands its packaging offering from the standard 6.5-ounce contour bottle to include 10-, 12- and 26-ounce contour bottles.

1957 – Coca-Cola contour bottles are printed with a white label featuring both trademarks, Coca-Cola and Coke.

1960 – 12-ounce aluminum Coca-Cola cans are introduced in the US.

1977 – The Coca-Cola bottle is granted registration as a trademark, a designation awarded to few other packages.

1993 – The 20-ounce PET contour bottle is introduced.

2009 – Coca-Cola introduces the “plant bottle” —100% recyclable and made with up to 30% renewable, plant-based material.