PRESS RELEASE

The popular culture symbol, design classic and icon, the Coca-Cola bottle turns 100 years old this year. In 1915, the bottle was created, which has since become the world's most famous packaging. Swede Alexander Samuelsson had a decisive hand in the game when the bottle came into being – his name is on the patent as he led the design work that resulted in the iconic bottle.

It all started when The Coca-Cola Company announced a design competition in the United States with the aim of finding a packaging design that set the drink apart from its competitors. The design brief was simple; The bottle must be so unique that it can be recognized just by feeling it in the dark and that it can be identified if it is broken into pieces on the ground.

Alexander Samuelsson, who had emigrated from Surte in Västergötland to the USA a few years earlier, led the design work at the company Root Glass Company. His team won the competition and the bottle went into production in 1916 in Terra Haute, Indiana. The shape of the bottle was narrowed slightly to work in the bottling machines of the time, and has remained the same ever since. Its execution – with its billowing midsection and recognizable curves – has been hailed as the most successful product design ever.

- We are of course very proud of our iconic bottle, which today means as much to us as our logo. It is also extra fun to celebrate the bottle's centenary here, because there is a natural connection to Sweden through Alexander Samuelsson, says Eric Nilsson, brand manager at The Coca-Cola Company in Sweden.

The bottle has also gained significant popular cultural status and has inspired several artists, musicians and designers. Perhaps the most famous artist is Andy Warhol who depicted the bottle with "The Grocery Store" from 1962. The first to use the Coca-Cola bottle in his art, however, was the surrealist Salvador Dalí, who includes the bottle in the work "Poetry in America" from 1943.

This is how the bottle is celebrated in Sweden

The anniversary of the bottle will be marked in stores, through television advertising and other campaigns. But Coca-Cola is not alone in paying attention to the celebration of the bottle. Between March 7 and April 12, 2015, you will be able to take part in the exhibition "A design classic turns 100 years old - the Swedish history of the Coca-Cola® bottle" at the Technical Museum in Stockholm, which is being opened on the occasion of the bottle as a packaging innovation. With original sketches and bottles from The Coca-Cola Company's own collections, the exhibition tells about how the design came about, but also about how the packaging developed from the first sketches until today. Read more about the exhibition on the website of the Technical Museum.

Coca-Cola Enterprises Sweden AB

Coca-Cola Enterprises Sweden AB produces, distributes and sells non-alcoholic beverages on the Swedish market. Some of the brands are Coca-Cola, Fanta, Sprite, MER, Burn, Bonaqua Silver, Powerade and Minute Maid. About 800 people work at Coca-Cola in Sweden, of which about 600 at the head office in Jordbro outside Stockholm. Around 1 million liters of beverage are produced here every day. In Sweden, Coca-Cola was launched in 1953. The recipe for Coca-Cola was created in 1886 by pharmacist John S. Pemberton in Atlanta, USA. For further information, please visit our website or follow us on Facebook

Source:

https://www.mynewsdesk.com/se/coca-cola_drycker_sverige_ab/pressreleases/coca-cola-r-flaskan-fyller-100-aar-svensk-designer-bakom-ikonen-1127392