Over the last few years Coca-Cola has significantly altered its marketing approach to encompass the younger audience too, and it seems to have paid off with one in five Millennials selecting the bottle as the most recognisable pack product.

The humble tin of Pringles, housed in their iconic cylinder tube, was the Millennial’s second favourite.

Alex Center, Design Director at The Coca-Cola Company, comments: "Packaging has always been at the core of the Coca-Cola brand. Our bottle is our most visible and most valuable asset. While ads on TV, online or billboards will always be important, nothing beats the feeling of a cold Coca-Cola bottle in your hand. That is the ultimate experience design."  

The study also revealed barcodes as the greatest packaging invention, with one quarter of Brits picking the famous parallel black and white lines. 

The Cardboard Box came in a close second with 21 per cent of the vote, followed by Re-Sealable Zips (20 per cent) and Vacuum Packaging (16 per cent).

Interestingly, the younger generation, 18-34 years, voted for 3D Printing and Re-Sealable Zips as its top two. 

As expected, when each age group was interrogated further there was a clear correlation between age and the ranking of more modern packaging approaches, with nearly one in six of 18-34 year olds selecting 3D Printing as the greatest packaging invention to date, in comparison to only 3 per cent of those age 65+.

Gerry Sherwood, Event Director for the Easyfairs’ Packaging Portfolio, who commissioned the survey, said: “Millennials have officially passed Baby Boomers as the largest generation in history, and are more personally connected to their favourite brands than ever before. It is therefore not surprising to see 3D printing come out top in our poll for this age group. We are in an era where almost anything is possible, from personalised packaging to augmented reality, so we have no excuses when it comes to targeting the appropriate audience. Consumers are demanding more from the brands they purchase, they want to feel special and be able to interact with the products ‘right now’, so it is the brands responsibility to make sure they can. That’s why, at the show we have inspirational packaging for all requirements, no matter what niche or group is being targeted.”