Active Can

The active beverage can communicates with the consumer.  For example, it informs the consumer about beverage temperature or it reacts to consumer wishes by cooling, heating or foaming the product.  The active beverage can also enables various ingredients to be mixed at the time of consumption.

This requires active components which each have a specific mechanism:

• to trigger a mechanical or hydrodynamic force (mixing)
• to activate an electrical component (music or language)
• to trigger a chemical process (temperature-sensitive colours)
• to change the energy budget of the container (cooling, heating - Ball Packaging Europe does not currently offer these technologies nor is developing them)

These components can be activated in various ways, either automatically or mechanically, or even via optical receptors. 

Ball Packaging Europe focuses on pressure-activated components.  The company has developed and patented valves and injection systems on this basis.  Application examples are the widget can and the FreshCan.