Coca-Cola Goes Label-Less for Sprite: A Step toward Sustainability or a Branding Crisis?
| Case Code: MKTG475 Case Length: 11 Pages Period: - Pub Date: 2025 Teaching Note: Available |
Price: Rs.400 Organization : Coca-Cola Industry : Food & Beverage Countries : United Kingdom Themes: Ethics in Marketing, Sustainability Environmental Sustainability |
Abstract Case Intro 1 Case Intro 2 Excerpts
Excerpts
Coca-Cola & Sustainable Packaging
Coca-Cola made several attempts to reduce its plastic usage and recycle more and thereby work toward sustainable packaging. It concentrated on introducing reusable packaging solutions to encourage the use of refillable cups, limit the usage of new materials, and minimize single-use waste to help tackle the challenge of packaging waste. (Refer to Exhibit II to know the sustainable packaging and Consumer Packaged Goods’ companies)
The ‘Naked For Now’ Campaign
As a part of its limited trial of label-less packaging titled ‘Naked for Now’, Coca‑Cola removed labels from its 500-ml Sprite and Sprite Zero bottles in the UK for some time. Instead of a plastic label, the bottle came with an embossed logo, with the product and nutritional information being laser-engraved on the back..
Going Label-Less: The Debate
Coca-Cola’s experiment with label-free packaging for Sprite in the UK represented a major change in the packaging scenario, according to observers. This innovative attempt not only defied accepted packaging conventions, but also functioned as a sort of anti-design statement that questioned the widely held belief that more is more when it came to labeling and packaging design..
The Sustainability Perspective
Several analysts lauded the label-free trial as a bold innovation, a testament to Coca-Cola’s dedication to investigating novel methods for mitigating its environmental impact. Experts opined that it would push other companies to reconsider their packaging tactics and thereby foster a more widespread industry transition to sustainability. Although companies like Coca-Cola claimed that their bottles were fully recyclable, external labels or shrink sleeves — even if they included crucial product information..
The Branding Perspective
Market analysts were concerned that the lack of traditional labels, which served as customers’ primary source for brand name and related information, could actually discourage sales. On a shelf that was already crowded, there was the possibility that the brand might no longer be recognized if the lone element that carried the Sprite emblem was eliminated. “It is quite a bold move, because they’re really losing brand recognition space..
Looking Ahead
After successfully running the campaign to eliminate labels from Sprite, in December 2024, however, Coca-Cola announced changes to its sustainability objectives, including revised goals on packaging. These objectives replaced the previous and more ambitious 2025 and 2030 targets. The company specified that it would focus on using recycled material in primary packaging and supporting collection rates..
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