A new limited-edition can from PepsiCo uses thermochromic ink to change colour at the ‘optimal’ drinking temperature. Vinicius Sales, PepsiCo’s Global Design Leader, gives us a closer look at how the pack actually works and why ‘gamification’ projects like this are important to big brands.
Could you introduce this campaign for our readers who may have missed the initial announcement, and talk a bit about what Pepsi hopes to achieve with it?
Football culture runs on unwritten rules and matchday rituals and for Pepsi Football Nation, none is more essential than Rule #16: ‘We always have chilled PepsiMAX ready’.
Earlier this year, we launched Pepsi Football Nation as a global platform celebrating the culture of football, from the fans and traditions to the partnerships and experiences that bring the game to life beyond the pitch.
With a huge summer of football, we wanted to bring that matchday ritual to life in a way that felt fun, surprising and unmistakably PepsiMAX. That’s what inspired our limited-edition 330ml thermochromic cans.
The cans transform as they chill, rewarding fans with a visual signal that their PepsiMAX has reached the perfect drinking temperature. It’s a great example of what can happen when creativity, packaging innovation and technical expertise come together.
What are some of the key benefits of gamification projects like this, and why do you think they are such a prominent part of how brands interact with consumers around major events?
Major football tournaments are all about excitement, anticipation and shared experiences, so they’re the perfect environment for playful, interactive ideas like this.
What makes packaging particularly powerful is that it’s something consumers can physically engage with. Rather than simply seeing a campaign, they’re actually part of it. In our case, the can becomes part of the matchday ritual, creating a small but rewarding moment when it reveals that it’s perfectly chilled and ready to enjoy.
To bring that experience to fans across the UK, we released 86 million football-themed cans, including 150,000 rare “Perfect Chilled” cans hidden within selected multipacks. Using temperature-sensitive ink, these cans turned blue when they reached 8°C, signalling the perfect drinking temperature. Fans who found one could also win exclusive prizes, adding another layer of excitement to the experience.
Ultimately, we wanted to strengthen PepsiMAX’s connection to football viewing occasions, while giving fans something unexpected that would make them smile.
I’d like to dig into some of the technical aspects now – how does the temperature change element actually work?
We used a thermochromic ink that changes colour with the temperature of the can. At ambient room temperature, the pigment remains largely transparent or muted. As the can cools, the ink gradually activates and fully transforms at around 8°C - which happens to be the ideal temperature to enjoy a PepsiMAX.
Of course, creating the concept at scale wasn’t without its challenges. Turning a creative idea into millions of cans on shelf required a huge amount of collaboration, testing and problem-solving across our design team.
The hardest part was making sure the thermochromic layer was consistent. And under every production condition - no matter the press, varnish, or substrate and production speed. So we carried out extensive testing to make sure the transformation worked exactly as intended every single time.
We couldn’t compromise on the iconic PepsiMAX colour or the quality consumers expect. Achieving both the visual impact and the production reliability was a real achievement, and something the team is incredibly proud of now that the cans are in consumers’ hands.
Could you give us a quick look into the R&D process, from the conception all the way to the delivery stage?
It really was a huge team effort. Bringing this can to life required close collaboration between Pepsi’s in-house Design team, our global print partners, and packaging suppliers.
First was concept development: how could we create a PepsiMAX can that looked great on shelf, but then delivered a genuinely exciting transformation when chilled to the perfect temperature?
From there, the challenge became making that idea work at commercial scale. Our Design team worked closely with print suppliers to explore different thermochromic ink technologies, testing various ink systems, activation temperatures, and graphic approaches to find the right solution. We wanted the effect to feel dramatic, but also premium and true to the PepsiMAX brand.
A lot of time went into testing and refinement. We ran multiple print trials to perfect colour consistency, ink coverage, durability, and activation performance. Every detail, from the artwork and varnishes to the production specifications, was carefully adjusted to ensure the effect would work reliably throughout the manufacturing process.
Once we had a solution we loved, we created physical samples and put them through repeated cooling cycles. The goal was to make sure the transformation began at 12°C and fully revealed itself at 8°C, while still looking striking at room temperature.
The final stage was preparing for production. Our Design team worked hand-in-hand with suppliers and manufacturing teams to ensure every market received the right creative assets and that the colour-changing effect performed exactly as intended, every time.
The result is a can that combines creativity, innovation, and technical precision to deliver a unique experience for football fans and PepsiMAX drinkers alike.
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