Coca-Cola has confirmed its beloved Christmas Truck Tour will return this year, complete with a winter market theme.
The famous red truck has been a festive staple since it appeared in the soft drink company's iconic Holidays Are Coming advert in 1995. Since then, the trucks have grown in popularity and head up and down the UK on an annual Christmas Truck Tour.
This year, the beloved tour aims to shine its spotlight on local communities, and will be supporting FareShare, the UK's biggest charity fighting hunger and food waste. Under the theme of 'your presence is your present', Coca-Cola Great Britain will donate the equivalent of up to 100,000 meals to those in need throughout the festive season.
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For every person that attends the Coca-Cola Truck Tour, the drinks giant will fund the equivalent of one meal for a person in need. The equivalent of 100,000 meals have already been donated to FareShare by Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, with the ambition of funding the total equivalent of 200,000 meals by the end of the tour.
Lindsay Boswell, CEO at FareShare said: "We're incredibly grateful for the support from Coca-Cola. Their donation will help us get more good-to-eat surplus food to people across the UK most impacted by the cost of living crisis. We hope as many people visit the Coca-Cola Truck Tour this Christmas so that we can get more food to people who need it during what are challenging times for many."
This year's tour will offer visitors more than just the famed red truck. The tour is kicking off with a winter market setting, boasting a range of activities designed to make the most of festivities.
There'll be 'elfie selfie' photo opportunities and QR codes that access a host of interactive games, as well as food huts that will serve up a selection of seasonal treats. Visitors will also have the opportunity to purchase Coca-Cola Zero Sugar and Coca-Cola Original Taste and have them personalised with their name or a short phrase.
The beloved Holidays Are Coming advert will also return to TV screens this month. Laura Moon, senior brand manager at The Coca-Cola Company, Great Britain, said: "Coca-Cola has always been synonymous with Christmas, particularly the iconic Truck Tour and Holidays Are Coming advert. This year, the magic of Christmas is needed more than ever, and we are excited to bring back our famous truck tour to fans nationwide.
"We're also extremely pleased to continue our relationship with FareShare and for every person that visits the Truck Tour, we’ll donate the equivalent of a meal on their behalf, supporting those most in need this festive season."
For the first time ever, Coca-Cola is collaborating with the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) and NaviLens on a pilot project to make its packaging accessible for blind and partially sighted people. This Christmas, promotional 24 and 30 multipacks of Coca-Cola will feature NaviLens technology which allows a smartphone to easily detect a unique on-pack code and playback labelling information to shoppers, enabling people with sight loss to access the key information they need to shop independently and with confidence.
Marc Powell, RNIB's Accessibility Innovation Lead, said: "It's great to see that one of the world’s biggest brands is championing the inclusion of accessibility as part of the conversation around how we can make the customer experience better for blind and partially sighted people.
"People with sight loss should have the same access and choice as our sighted counterparts, but currently, important information on packaging can often be in very small print, making it difficult or impossible for us to read. Technology such as NaviLens is a game changer and allows blind and partially sighted people to independently access key information on packaging.
"This pilot with Coca-Cola, the first beverage company to launch NaviLens on packs, highlights how big brands can put accessibility at the forefront of design and packaging decisions, and be a real catalyst for change." For further information about the Truck Tour schedule, keep an eye on Coca-Cola's Instagram and Twitter pages.
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