Coca-Cola North America will officially launch Coca-Cola With Coffee in ready-to-drink coffee aisles across the United States in January 2021.
The RTD beverage fuses the familiar taste of Coca-Cola with the “rich flavour” of Brazilian coffee. Three signature flavours – Dark Blend, Vanilla, and Caramel – will be offered in 12-ounce cans.
“This is a truly unique hybrid innovation that will pioneer a new category we’re calling refreshment coffee,” says Jaideep Kibe, Vice President, Coca-Cola Trademark, Coca-Cola North America. He adds the beverage is one of the company’s most successfully tested innovations in recent years.
“Coca-Cola With Coffee is a product that is meant to be tried, because when you take that first sip, you realize there's nothing quite like it… It sips like a Coke and finishes like a coffee.”
Coca-Cola With Coffee is the latest output of the company’s “lift and shift” strategy to scale successful beverage innovations from market to market via an experimental, test-and-learn approach. The product was first piloted in Japan in 2018 and is now available in more than 30 markets around the world, including Australia, Brazil, Vietnam, Turkey, and Italy. Each country tailors the recipe and packaging mix to meet local tastes.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the need for us to be more disciplined in how we launch, validate, refine and scale up big bets like this,” says Javier Meza, Chief Marketing Officer for The Coca-Cola Company’s sparkling beverage portfolio.
“We’re excited to bring Coca-Cola With Coffee to the United States and apply learnings from so many markets that have gotten us to where we are today.”
The company says research shows that consumers are more open to trying new category-crossing drinks, that push Coca-Cola into uncharted territory while staying true to its core values.
“People’s taste preferences and lifestyles are changing, so we’re evolving our portfolio to meet those needs,” Meza says. “As a total beverage company, we are constantly listening to consumers and looking for ways to innovate and bring people more of the beverages they want.”
Members of the company’s Coca-Cola Insiders Club will have an exclusive opportunity to try the beverage before its official launch in December 2019.
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Image: Coca-Cola Company
