Wet Planet Beverages Offers 140 ‘Jolts’ In Each Resealable Aluminum Soda Can

The new Jolt battery-like design elements are pervasive, including the “Positive Reinforcement” tagline, positive and negative terminal indicators, and “Joltage” indicators. Mason Selkowitz McDermott also recommended that Jolt simplify the product names, so “Red Eye” became just “Red” and “Electric Blue” just “Blue.”

When designer Brad Schultz sat down with a pencil and sketchbook to design a completely new Jolt Cola bottle or can, he thought: “This stuff is full of energy—what is energy?” Schultz and his firm, Mason Selkowitz McDermott (MSM), had been offered a challenge by the owners of the Jolt brand, Wet Planet Beverages: Remake the Jolt container to communicate energy top to bottom.

Schultz sketched out his fantasy container, applicable to a can or PET bottle. Hence, the battery concept was born, and all the attendant elements Schultz applied only helped reinforce the concept. For the uninitiated, Jolt has by far the highest caffeine content of any soda on the market, with 140 “Jolts” (milligrams) in this 23.5-oz. can.

Schultz is the creative director at MSM, and directly responsible for the label design and battery concept of the Battery Bottle™, the new resealable aluminum can that could have easily debuted as an ordinary PET bottle, had not a few manufacturing stars aligned. Schultz felt like he hit a home run on the first swing, and there was almost no adjustments needed when adapting the label design to a can.

Schultz explains that the Jolt brand had long been shepherded by Jerry Infantino, now semi-retired and former owner of the Infantino- McDermott design firm. The Jolt brand was born in 1985, an irreverent counterpoint to the major soda players, when it unapologetically bragged that it had “Twice the Caffeine”.

The Battery Bottle relaunch of Jolt introduces the industry’s first resealable 23.5-oz. aluminum container into the marketplace. The can is a remarkable combination of the right designs, the right innovations, and the right manufacturers meeting at the right time.

Upon receiving the completely realized Battery Bottle idea from the MSM firm, Wet Planet Beverage president CJ Rapp was thrilled, yet realized that PET just would not be able to complete this concept. Rapp immediately began scouring the industry for a way to make this Battery Bottle a unique can with elements that had not yet been combined before. Rapp happily came across Rexam Beverage Can North America, who had been refining a new re-sealable aluminum can design with strategic partner Dayton Systems Group, Inc.

The previous Jolt logo still appears on the back of the battery bottle as a reminder:“We’re still the same company.”

Still the most powerful soda

“Jolt is a cultural icon permanently sewn into the American fabric,” says Rapp. The new package reinforces those brand equities with a bold new look that mimics a battery in more than a few ways. The new Jolt Battery Bottle even features a power gauge printed in thermochromic ink that changes colors when the beverage is chilled. As the beverage is consumed, the ink returns to its original color, outwardly showing the consumer how much is left.

“The first step is to get our distributors motivated, and that’s been substantiated,” Rapp reports. Rapp was not concerned that consumers would be confused by the new packaging. Instead, he was confident that Jolt enthusiasts would immediately connect with the new design. “There are so many synergies,” Rapp insists, noting that the old gold and red logo on the black background still lives on the back of the new Battery Bottle.

Hopefully, the presence of the old logo will say to consumers: “We’re still the same company.” The old logo was meant to evoke a premium coffee-like experience, and the caffeine rush associated therein.

Could this look any more like a battery? The can even has a “Power Remaining” gauge that changes color as the can is cooled and indicates how much Jolt is left.

A marriage of technologies

The Battery Bottle offers the inherent benefits of the aluminum can—guaranteed freshness, superior carbonation retention and shelf-life, quick chilling, distribution and filling efficiencies, and the best in recycling. And due to the unique offering of resealability, consumers will be able to experience the fresh taste and energy boost of Jolt at their own pace.

“We worked closely with Wet Planet to understand what they wanted to do with their brand and bottom line,” said Harry Barto, president and CEO, Rexam Beverage Can North America. Available exclusively through Rexam, the new Jolt Battery Bottle is made possible by combining Rexam’s 23.5-oz. Monster™ can body with Cap Can™ closure technology developed by the Dayton Systems Group.

Dayton Systems, located in Miamisburg, OH, developed the patented design, forming process, and equipment technology to manufacture the Cap Can with a standard rubber EVOH sealing material. The closure design is ideal to take the pressures experienced during the filling, sealing, and shipping of the Jolt soda products. Wet Planet also worked with Rexam’s own integrated graphic art and printing plate operation in Elk Grove, IL, to set the color and graphic tolerances for perfect brand reproduction on the Jolt Battery Bottle.

The Jolt Battery Bottle retails at just under $2 at convenience stores and independent retailers throughout the country. Bars and nightclubs will also feature a rum and Jolt concoction coined a “Jumper Cable.”

Schultz also convinced Wet Planet Beverages to reduce and simplify the flavor selections, so “Red Eye” became just “Red” and “Electric Blue” just “Blue.” The Citrus Climax and Orange Blast were dropped, Cherry Bomb remained the same, and a no-calorie, lemon-lime Ultra flavor (with ginseng, taurine, and guarana) was introduced.

Wet Planet Beverages does not push Jolt much through normal media advertising, hoping its point of sale approach and brand strength translates into loyalty and intrigue. “It really is a brand that has all kinds of possibilities,” Schultz explains, “The bottle itself really needs to speak volumes.”