Japan: Coca-Cola to produce its first alcoholic drink

Coca Cola, the soft drink multinational, has announced plans to launch a ‘chu-hi’ style alcopop in Japan that will be the company’s first alcoholic drink in its 132 years of history.

‘Chu-hi’ is a canned sparkling flavoured drink that traditionally includes a distilled local beverage called shochu. The drink ranges in alcohol content from 3 to 8% and is described as being particularly popular with female drinkers.

Commenting on the news, Jorge Garduño, president of Coca-Cola’s Japanese unit, said: “We haven’t experimented in the low alcohol category before, but it’s an example of how we continue to explore opportunities outside our core areas”.

“Coca-Cola has always focused entirely on non-alcoholic beverages, and this is a modest experiment for a specific slice of our market”, he added. “The Chu-Hi category is found almost exclusively in Japan. Globally, it’s not uncommon for non-alcoholic beverages to be sold in the same system as alcoholic beverages. It makes sense to give this a try in our market”.

Source: Coca-Cola / The Guardian

 

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