By Gary Symons
TLL Editor in Chief
Welcome to the future, where your next frosty beverage was designed by an advanced, artificial intelligence bot.
Soda giant Coca-Cola is making that future today, as it invites fans to try out their new AI-created beverage “to imagine what the future tastes and feels like.
Coca-Cola Y3000 Zero Sugar is a new drink created by the Coca-Cola Creations team, and it’s probably unfair to say it was completely developed by AI. Coca-Cola says Y3000 was co-created with the efforts of both human and artificial intelligence, with AI helping the dev team by developing an understanding of how fans envision the future through emotions, aspirations, colors, flavors and more.
Fans’ perspectives from around the world, combined with insights gathered from artificial intelligence, helped inspire Coca‑Cola to create the unique taste of Y3000.
“We hope that Coca‑Cola will still be as relevant and refreshing in the year 3000 as it is today, so we challenged ourselves to explore the concept of what a Coke from the future might taste like—and what kind of experiences would a Coke from the future unlock?” said Oana Vlad, Senior Director, Global Strategy, The Coca‑Cola Company. “The ‘Real Magic’ brand platform celebrates unexpected connections that make the ordinary extraordinary, so we intentionally brought human intelligence and AI together for an uplifting expression of what Coca‑Cola believes tomorrow will bring.”
The zero-sugar offering will be available for a limited time in select markets including the United States, Canada, China, Europe and Africa. Consumers in the United States and Canada can also reach for an original taste version of Coca‑Cola Y3000.
Coca‑Cola Y3000 Zero Sugar sports an equally futuristic—and optimistic—visual identity, which you can see in the photo at top.
The design, naturally was also co-created with the help of artificial intelligence.
“The design showcases liquid in a morphing, evolving state, communicated through form and color changes that emphasize a positive future,” Coca-Cola said in a statement. “A light-toned color palette featuring violet, magenta and cyan against a silver base gives a futuristic feel. The iconic Spencerian Script features a connected matrix with fluid dot clusters that merge to represent the human connections of our future planet.”
The packaging itself, not surprisingly, also includes some state of the art technology, as well as a direct link to a new fashion capsule collection from licensing party AMBUSH. Consumers will be able to scan an on-pack QR code to access the Coca‑Cola Creations Hub, where they can filter photos through the custom Y3000 AI Cam to envision what their current reality could look like in the future. The futuristic fun will continue IRL ( in real life) through the Y3000 Capsule Collection collaboration from fashion brand AMBUSH. The limited-edition line of apparel and accessories inspired by the future will be available this fall at AMBUSHDESIGN.com.
The entire project comes from the innovation team known as Coca-Cola Creations, some of which we’ve covered before on TLL. For example, the company recently released a new limited edition flavor called Coca-Cola Move, in collaboration with Grammy-award winning singer Rosalía. Similar to the QR code on Y3000 packages, the Move can also has a QR code that links buyers to a variety of behind-the-scenes content, including a Rosalia playlist, a personality quiz that helps create a 3D avatar, a launch video, and so on.
Other recent Coca-Cola innovations included the launches of Starlight, Byte and Dreamworld, all of which had their own metaverse experiences. Byte debuted on the video game/metaverse platform Fortnite, while Dreamworld buyers could purchase virtual merchandise for their online avatars. The flavor Starlight featured a QR code on the container that gave customers access to a holographic Ava Max concert.
“The role of every drop is to leverage the latest, most advanced technologies and cultural trends to create novel experiences,” Vlad said. “After leaning into Augmented Reality last year, we’re embracing the power of AI and continuing to build our company’s capabilities in this exciting space. Coca‑Cola Creations has created new pathways to deepen our engagement with existing fans and those who may not have considered the brand before.”
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