All year long readers have been voting for the top beverage articles of the year that include a circuited beer cup, a chilling development, water repackaged, a novel tea and a unique product trial at 7-Eleven.
Thanks go to readers who have voted to-date since January 1 as Packaging Digest finalizes the results in determining the most popular articles of the year. The electronic voting that has recorded well more than 2 million votes is a totally seamless and convenient process—readers vote when they click on articles to read. We recognize the top winners in a series of reports that continue over the next several weeks, and kick things off with a reveal of the top-performing beverage packaging posts that represent a vast rainbow pack of assorted news and innovations distilled for your quick consumption to the Top 5.
First up is a perennially popular subject with readers that comes in this year at #5: beer packaging. This entry was a literal bright spot during the 2018 FIFA World Cup tournament in Russia, thanks to smart packaging ingenuity courtesy of Anheuser-Busch InBev. No stranger to innovative packaging design, the company outdid itself with collectible Budweiser cups used during the tournament that lit up in response to crowd noise. Circuitry built into the 500-mL beer cups responded to environmental sound with light-emitting diodes (LEDs) that flashed, visually ramping up the fans’ energy even more as if that were needed. The cups had two levels of activation, so louder noise amplified further the flashing lights.
The brand owner didn’t stop there, but took an ambitious extra step or two with the graphic design. The graphics on each cup were keyed to the match during which the beer was sold, featuring, for example, the competing countries’ names and flags.
To hear more about this wildly winning beverage container, read Budweiser brings a flash of smart-packaging genius to the FIFA World Cup
PS: If you’d like more Bud, be sure to check out these articles, too:
Budweiser adds new renewable energy logo to packaging
Budweiser reveals sustainability pledge behind the sustainability pledge
Next: Self-chilling coffee on trial