To Get Medicine to Africa, Health Experts Turn to Coca-Cola

Bloomberg Business Week, April 2013

Running water, electricity, and paved roads are hard to find in the remotest parts of sub-Saharan Africa. A bottle of warm Coca-Cola, though? No sweat. This impressive reach isn’t lost on public health advocates. They are looking to Coke’s distribution network to bring cheap, life-saving medication to some of the world’s most remote places

Since September, more than 40,000 medicine kits designed to slip between Coke bottles stacked in a case have made the journey deep into the Zambian countryside. … Continue Reading

Clever Packaging: Essential Medicine Rides Coke’s Distribution Into Remote Villages

www.wired.com, March 2013

Simon Berry is piggybacking on Coca-Cola’s distribution system to bring life-saving medicine to the places that need it most.

You can buy a Coke pretty much anywhere on Earth. Thanks to a vast network of local suppliers, Coca-Cola has almost completely solved distribution, getting its product into every nook and cranny where commerce reaches. There are places in the world where it’s easier to get a Coke than clean water. … Continue Reading

Christmas Packaging: An interview with Robert Opie, founder of the Museum of Brands, Packaging and Advertising

Christmas comes but once a year and it is a fabulous opportunity for brands to invest in a vibrant piece of seasonal packaging and attempt to grab a little bit of extra volume. This is the one time of the year when, in our modern society, we genuinely seek out and want to engage with a level of indulgence to get us into the festive mood.

The Christmas spirit has been around for a good hundred and fifty years. It is hard to fathom that prior to the nineteenth century Christmas was barely celebrated; many businesses did not even consider it a holiday as the New Year was viewed as more important. However, by the turn of the twentieth century, it had become the biggest annual celebration. … Continue Reading

pi global develops innovative new structural packaging for ColaLife

ColaLife is an independent charity, working to open the unparalleled local distribution networks that already exist for products like Coca-Cola, to get vital simple medicines to hard-to-reach areas in developing countries. Simon Berry, whilst working as a technical cooperation officer for the British aid programme in Africa recognised three fundamental facts that consequently are the essence of the charity:

1. You can buy a Coca-Cola almost anywhere in the world, even in the most remote parts of developing countries.

2. In these same places 1 in 7 children die before their fifth birthday from preventable causes. Most die as a result of dehydration from diarrhoea. … Continue Reading

Olympic Sponsorship – the consumer’s opinion

London is in limbo. After the excitement of the Olympic Games we are on standby, waiting in anticipation for the Paralympics.

The build-up to the games was magnificent and it kicked-off in spectacular fashion. Danny Boyle directed an Opening Ceremony with an imitation Glastonbury Tor, live farm animals and Isambard Kingdom Brunel quoting Shakespeare to 80,000 people in the Stadium. London had the world’s eyes on  it and the pressure of expectation was immense.

There had been controversy surrounding the Games and many doubts voiced publically; would London’s infrastructure be able to support the huge amount of visitors … Continue Reading