Coca Cola Europacific Partners Deutschland, Vetropack Group and technology company Myneral Labs have received the German Packaging Award 2026 in the Digitalisation category for their innovative system for digitally tracking reusable glass bottles.
The solution gives every 0.75 litre reusable glass bottle used for the ViO and Apollinaris brands an individual Data Matrix code. The permanent code is engraved directly onto the bottle by Vetropack during glass production and acts as a unique digital identity for each container.
AI based camera systems supplied by Myneral Labs read the individual serial numbers as bottles pass through the filling lines. This allows information on filling cycles, bottle rejection, losses and quality to be recorded for every individual bottle instead of relying mainly on statistical estimates and historical experience.
The technology was initially tested at the CCEP production facility in Bad Neuenahr, Germany. It has now also been introduced at the company’s Lüneburg plant, allowing complete reusable bottle inventories to be digitally monitored across two production locations.
The project is designed to create a continuous digital history for every reusable glass bottle. The resulting operational data can help improve bottle pool management, increase transparency regarding bottle circulation and losses, and support more efficient use of resources.
Vetropack contributes its expertise in container glass production and applies the Data Matrix codes during manufacturing. Myneral Labs provides the camera technology and software for data processing, while CCEP Deutschland manages the integration of the system into its beverage production operations.
According to the project partners, the technology demonstrates how digitalisation can make reusable glass packaging systems more transparent and efficient while providing detailed information about the complete lifecycle of individual bottles.
The German Packaging Award recognises the project as the first system of its kind in the beverage industry to make individual reusable glass bottles digitally traceable.
