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Chromatic Technologies Inc. Founder and CEO Lyle Small Reveals Story Behind How Coors Light's Color Changing-Cans Came to Be

Iconic Coors Light Blue Mountain Can Turns 16 Years Old

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO, February 23, 2023 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Debuting in 2007, Coors Light's color-changing cans made headlines and has since become an incredibly iconic image and powerful marketing tool. While many instantly recognize the can and the blue mountain that appears when the beverage is "as cold as the Rockies" and ready to be enjoyed at the optimal temperature, few know how this innovative packaging feature came to be. The promise of beer that's "as cold as the Rockies" that the blue mountain communicates to drinkers is an early example of CTI's Prove Your Promise™ initiative that helps manufacturers show consumers that their product is ready to be enjoyed.

In an interview recently published in the Molson Coors Beer & Beyond blog, the founder and CEO of Chromatic Technologies Inc – the company that first pitched the idea of color-changing cans to the Coors Brewing Company – has revealed the story behind it all.

CTI was founded by Cornell University chemistry student Lyle Small in his dorm room in 1993. Nine years later in 2002, he'd make a visit to Coors' brewery in Golden, Colorado, and pitch them on the potential of thermochromic ink – a type of dye that changes color when exposed to increases or decreases in temperature. It had been Small's dream for a beverage company to adopt this technology, but he probably never imagined it would be a beer company that ultimately did.

CTI's color-changing ink was a potential solution to a problem that the Coors Brewing Company had recently discovered. Their research discovered a significant number of beer drinkers said they'd had a poor experience due to their beer being too warm. The simple visual cue achieved with thermochromic ink packaging could solve that problem. This in addition to Small's persistence and the fact that the packaging innovation was true to the brand sold Coors on the idea, and Coors Light cans with thermochromic ink technology that revealed an image of Wilson Peak when they reached ~43 degrees Fahrenheit began hitting shelves five years after he first came knocking. Small and CTI were able to not only transform how Coors' product was packaged but how consumers perceived the beer – blue mountains = ice cold and refreshing beer.

16 years later, the color-changing technology and that blue mountain are an integral part of Coors' brand, and it's helped Coors become the second-best-selling beer in America.

Chromatic Technologies Inc. (CTI) is not just an ink company but an innovation engine that helps brands grow by improving lives through chemistry that alerts, protects, and surprises. CTI offers thermochromic, photochromic, and glow-in-the-dark inks in multiple formats, colors, and temperature ranges that increase consumer interaction and purchase intent. If product temperature matters to you, our technologies can guarantee that your product is at the right temperature.

Related Link:
https://www.ctiinks.com

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