Beverage firm Coca-Cola to penetrate the thriving coffee industry

The Coca-Cola Company, the world-leading soft drink manufacturer, has reportedly announced the launch of its new Coca-Cola Coffee in over 25 markets around the globe by the end of 2019. With the latest move, the beverage giant seems to be on the verge of proliferating the flourishing coffee industry. Sources state that the new beverage is a blend of Coke soda with coffee, which is intended to cater to the demands of consumers wanting more caffeine and less sugar in their drinks. The ready-to-drink coffee has been claimed to be the fastest-growing growing segment in the entire coffee category. Coca-Cola’s latest move comes along the heels of the shifting preferences of consumers from drinking soda to opting less sugary drinks such as Coca-Cola Zero Sugar. Coca-Cola Coffee, for those uninitiated, contains less amount of sugar than a same-sized Coke bottle. Sources further reported that the new drink apparently has also enabled the company to benefit from the current coffee trend, as the global coffee segment has depicted considerable growth between 2016 and 2017. In addition, chilled coffee drinks like cold coffee have also been growing popular with consumers. Coca-Cola’s CEO James Quincey was reported saying that the Coke Coffee has been designed to serve a certain demographic – such customers that are a part of the mid-afternoon energy decline troop, or maybe special occasions. He went on to state that the preliminary results are quite promising and are delivering incremental growth for the leading brand, with little cannibalization. Coca-Cola had first introduced its own-brand coffee Coca-Cola Blak, back in 2006, which it discontinued about two years later. The company made another try in 2017 and launched Coca-Cola Plus Coffee in Australia, which was brought to Asia shortly for more tests, following the retooling of the formula and enhancement in coffee aroma. Reportedly, the company is further planning to start selling the ready-to-drink Costa Coffee products across key European markets by this year’s second quarter. Source Credits: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/23/coca-cola-is-making-a-big-push-into-coffee.html