A few days ago a host of respectable news sources, and the Daily Mail, were hoaxed by a video - admittedly, one that was pretty well made - purporting to show a giant leap in packaging by Coca-Cola.
The soft drinks giant, it seemed, was switching its most iconic drink from bottles and cans to bottle-shaped plastic bags. The move would save on materials, save on cash and be better for the environment. Granted, shoppers might take some persuading. But nothing Coke’s mighty marketing machine couldn’t handle.
Except the video - which you can see here - was a fake, and Coke has no such plans. The Mail’s story has long since disappeared from its website.
All of which means the big news in packaging remains the Fruit Shoot recall - a melodrama that deepened today as The Sun revealed “the boy who cost Britvic £100m” by choking on the drink’s “spill-proof Magicap”.
Britvic yesterday said the Fruit Shoot recall could cost it as much as £25m in profits, with production on hold for the next six weeks and stores unlikely to be fully stocked before December.
The even larger figure on The Sun’s headline referred to the value wiped off the company’s market cap, as investors looked to sell. Investec analyst Nicola Mallard today warned of “damage [to] both profits and reputation”.
The Grocer will be lifting the lid on the Magicap debacle on Saturday, looking at how the error came about - and what the implications are for other suppliers.
In the meantime, Britvic’s bigwigs might be wondering whether the Coca-Cola hoaxers were on to something after all.
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