Coke's 414mL / 14oz Bottle

Concept: 2 out of 5
Execution: 3 out of 5
Yeah, but: Let's all contain our excitement.

The Long Version: I'm old enough that seeing the words "New" and "Coke" on the same label leaves me a little apprehensive. The good news, such as it is, is that the beverage itself hasn't changed - the excited yellow "NEW!" banner on the bottle merely refers to the packaging. The huge innovation is a 414mL size polyethylene terephthalate container, which joins the existing 600mL and 710mL plastic bottles. There was once a 500mL bottle, which was replaced by the 20% larger size, so there's a certain feeling of deja vu to this new container as well.

I haven't actually seen these bottles on the shelf yet, but a report puts the pricing closer to the 355mL can than the existing bottles. That's not too surprising, given the capacity, but to be honest I would prefer the smaller size to the 600mL bottle even if the price-per-milliliter was slightly higher. They're nicer to hold and drink from, and even at the rate that I consume the stuff, a 600 or 710mL bottle is likely to be warm and flat by the time I'm done with it.

While I prefer cans for home and work, I have a hard time buying them singly from a convenience store because I know how much cheaper they are in a case. When I'm out and about, I'll buy bottles simply to rationalize the higher price of getting a single container from a fridge. Coke's not exactly betting the business on this new venture, but hopefully the smaller portion size will be a success. It's the one I'll be looking for from now on.