In a period when many consumer packaged goods manufacturers and retailers are looking to reduce SKU counts and streamline supply chains (see Will Large Retailers Help Manufacturers Drive Out Supply Chain Complexity?), Coca-Cola says it is going the other way, with a variety of products in new bottle shapes.

In the US, most soda is sold in just a few standard package sizes and shapes across all brands: 2-liter, straight-walled bottle, a 12-pack of 12-ounce aluminum cans, and a 20-ounce, plastic bottle.  Coke still sells a small amount of product in its iconic contoured glass bottles, but not enough to really matter.

Now, Coke is saying that its products should not be in the same 2-liter bottle as every other brand. The company and its bottling network are turning to differentiated packaging as a means to grab consumer attention and change purchasing dynamics.

The company, for example, says we can expect to see the classic contoured bottle shape in different sizes – including a plastic, 2-liter version that has already been introduced into a few US markets.

It may also introduce a 16-ounce bottle that will bring the retail price under $1.00, a price point which the 20-ounce bottles usually exceed.

All told, the move will add to the number of SKUs that Coke has to manage, and in fact already does in Europe, where there are more package options. This comes as carbonated soft drink sales continue to struggle, having declined in the US for four straight years.

“Package diversity is about matching up the benefits of the package with the needs of the purchaser for the occasion they’re buying for,’’ Ralph Kytan, said vice president of Coke’s North American bottling operation.