Coca-Cola Announces Surprising New Flavor

By Russ Burlingame

Those tall, skinny Coca Cola With Coffee cans are about to get a new friend on the shelf. Yesterday, the Coca-Cola company announced that they will roll out a Coca Cola With Coffee Mocha next month. The new flavor will hit grocery store shelves on February 7. This follows on the heels of the original Coca Cola With Coffee launch by almost exactly a year, during which time three flavors -- dark blend, vanilla and caramel --  have appeared in grocery stores and at convenience stores and big box retailers around the country. The product is a twist on an old idea: Coke Blak, a coffee-infused version of Coca-Cola, rolled out in 2006 and was discontinued in the United States in 2008.

According to its official description, Coca Cola With Coffee Mocha "infuses the beloved Coca-Cola taste with a rich, luxurious mocha coffee flavor. Each 12-oz. can is infused with Brazilian coffee and packs 69 mg of caffeine, nearly double the amount in a typical can of Coke."

In addition to the new product roll-out, Coke announced that they plan to modify can designs for a number of their flavored drinks, such as Cherry Coke and Coca Cola Zero Sugar.

"We're focusing our innovation efforts on doing what Coca-Cola has always stood for and does best – which is to deliver emotional and functional uplift – in bigger, bolder, more differentiated ways," Coca-Cola brand director Brandan Strickland said in the launch announcement last year​. "Coca-Cola with Coffee is a true hybrid innovation that provides the perfect solution for that mid-afternoon pick-me-up we all want, especially in today's work-from-home environment. We're fulfilling this need state and occasion in a uniquely Coca-Cola way."

According to data Coke released, over half of all soda drinkers drink both the fizzy drink and coffee, a major driving force behind the development of this product.

The line itself has been available internationally for quite some time, having first been introduced in Japan in 2018. The United States will be the company's 50th market to get access to the beverage. Coke applauds its early testing numbers, saying 80-percent of those who tried the drink said they'd buy it again.

"Many people are often torn between reaching for a soft drink or a coffee at 3 p.m. at work, at school or on the go. Now, you don't need to leave Coca-Cola to get your coffee fix," Strickland added. "While other categories including energy drinks have ventured into zero-sugar territory, RTD coffee hasn't because many offerings are dairy-based. So we see this as a major whitespace opportunity."

h/t People​

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