Popularity of Craft Sodas Grow as Coca-Cola Sees Opportunity for Full Portfolio of Locally Inspired Flavours
Coca-Cola is returning to its artisanal roots with the release of two new specially crafted beverages, combining the brand‘s timeless taste with peach flavour sourced from peaches grown in Georgia and raspberry flavour sourced from raspberries grown in California.
Coca-Cola Georgia Peach and Coca-Cola California Raspberry become available this week in 12-oz glass bottle singles or four-packs and can be found in local restaurants, bars and grocery stores across the US.
The company hopes to capitalise on the growing popularity of craft sodas and build on the success of products from Mexico, which the company began importing into the US in 2006 and has posted solid growth ever since.
“We are the share leader in specialty sodas, with our imports portfolio consisting of Coca-Cola, Sprite and Fanta from Mexico, and see an opportunity to make more of a full portfolio play in this space with these new locally inspired flavours.
“Specialty sodas are particularly appealing to people who enjoy discovering crafted flavours and who have a desire to try curated food and beverage experiences,” said Lillian Norton, Senior Brand Manager, Coca-Cola Innovation.
Coke’s R&D team worked with nearly 9,500 consumers and explored more than 30 flavour options, mostly rooted in fruit, for what would be the brand’s first flavour innovations since Vanilla Coke in 2002.
“We let the consumer lead us to these flavours through several rounds of research. Peach and raspberry floated to the top.
“We know that our consumers want more transparency. They want clear ingredient information, and they’re seeking out more local products. They are shopping local, and eating local. So we wanted to allow people to experience some unique local flavours no matter where they live in the US,” added Norton.
The bottle and package designs reinforce the local, craft-inspired personality of the new beverages.
“The logos and imagery are printed directly on the glass bottles versus a label, the four-pack carrier is designed in an artful, understated way, and the on-pack copy shares the story behind these beverages,” said Norton.
Coke is taking a lowkey, grassroots approach to marketing. To help create a word-of-mouth buzz about the new beverages, the brand is collaborating with local artisans and artists in Georgia and California to create statement pieces, like murals, installations and street art, inspired by the flavours and their hometowns.
Coca-Cola was a four-time global winner of the World Branding Awards, in the Beverages-Softdrinks category.
