Cognifex Launches LED Packs for Beverage Sector

The LightPad LED products allow the contents of standard glass or plastic bottles to be illuminated using tiny electronic devices that are attached to the outside of the packs or in the recess in the base of a standard beer bottle.

13/06/08 Cognifex, the Surrey-based supplier of LED technology that illuminates packaging, labels or logos, has announced its first commercial application in the beverage industry.

Ursus Breweries in Romania has used the LightPad LED technology to illuminate 330ml beer bottles for a series of launch parties.

The LightPad LED products allow the contents of standard glass or plastic bottles to be illuminated using tiny electronic devices that are attached to the outside of the packs or in the recess in the base of a standard beer bottle.

The illumination effects can be in many colours, made time variable and activated in a variety of ways. For example, bar staff could manually remove an insulating pull tape or depress a switch on the bottle base; or the LEDs could be motion-activated when a spirits bottle is picked up to mix a cocktail.

Cognifex chief executive Bryn Griffiths said LightPad was a "powerful marketing and promotional tool" that would enable brands to differentiate themselves from their competitors.

Beam Global Spirits & Wine, the US producer of brands such as Jim Beam and Courvoisier, trialled the motion-activated LightPads on 750cl and one-litre Hornitos tequila bottles to bathe the tequila in a green shimmering light each time the bottle was picked up to pour.

Griffiths said future developments for the LightPad would include illuminated electronic labels, plus a wireless technology system that would allow fast-food packs to illuminate automatically in a defined geographic region or a number of locations at a pre-determined time.