Interesting article, thanks for sharing. If they have the money to do it, then more power to them. The tendency of bigger companies and brands is to embrace more scientific research and quantitative measures, even of something that we may not this is quantifiable, like joy. It is a way of managing risk and not being exposed to having to make large, and potentially costly, mistakes (for the brand and personaly).
Sounds like it was mostly a graphics and positioning refresh, any idea whether it also included bottle shape? Any before and after images?