Pepsi Makes Major Change to 2L Bottle for First Time in 30 Years

For the first time in nearly 30 years, PepsiCo is giving two-liter bottles a facelift. Throughout [...]

By Adam Barnhardt

For the first time in nearly 30 years, PepsiCo is giving two-liter bottles a facelift. Throughout the next few weeks, consumers may start to see the new designs pop up in stores, one the company says is 25-percent slimmer than the old bottle you've been used to for decades.

Let the record reflect the decision the change wasn't made lightly. The marketing and research teams at Pepsi got into the nitty-gritty, even going the length to measure the hands of the drinkers of Pepsi products. As such, the circumference of the new bottle has been cut to 10.4-inches, compared to the 13.4-inch circumference the old bottles carried.

new pepsi bottles
(Photo: PepsiCo)

According to a statement by the company, the new designs may slightly reduce Pepsi's plastic footprint, all in thanks to thinner plastic used in the bulk of bottles. Pepsi design chief Mauro Porcini calls the projects one of the most important tasks he's taken on in his career.

"You think, as a designer, how difficult is it to redesign a bottle?" Porcini told Fast Company. "The reality is, when you need to redesign a bottle with this scale . . . and this impact on the world and business, it is probably one of the most difficult projects I ever faced in my career."

The designer adds the company studied how the masses would "hold it and pour it," and how Pepsi could "make the experience better from a usability and ergonomic standpoint."

Better yet, the new gripping area differs from brand-to-brand. Immediately, bottle re-designs for Pepsi, MTN Dew, Crush, Dr. Pepper, and Schweppes should start popping up wherever soda is sold. Eventually, the company says, more than two dozen drink lines will get a redesign. The designs are available now in Chicago, Minneapolis-St.Paul, and Wisconsin-based markets ahead of a national rollout "in the near future."

According to Porcini, the design process takes sustainability and the company's environmental footprint into account when crafting new designs, though he seems to admit the company can always do better.

"There's an [environmental] effort, but it's an effort that's a journey. We need to take the consumer with us. If we fail in delivering something that's engaging and functional for consumers, at the end of the day, we will fail also on our sustainability goals."

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