ATLANTA -- The substantial list of new products the Coca-Cola Co. will introduce during the NACS Show this year is ample evidence of the beverage maker's continuing move toward noncarbonated drinks.
In fact, of nine major product introductions, only one—Sprite Cherry and Sprite Zero Cherry—is a carbonated soft drink.
While Coca-Cola owns 50% share of the global market, its collection of bottled waters, iced teas, juices and more add up to only 15% share, globally, giving the company plenty of room to grow.
The noncarbonated beverage category "is a fragmented set up of categories where there is ample opportunity for us to follow a ... path of gaining market share steadily over the years," James Quincey, president and chief operating officer for Coca-Cola, said during an investors conference in September.
In coming months, the company will focus on three major "still" beverage subcategories ...
Atlanta-based Coca-Cola will roll out three new flavors/styles of its Gold Peak iced tea, including Diet Green Tea, Slightly Sweet Tea and a new Tea Latte in Chai Latte and Vanilla Chai Latte. It also will expand the brand into ready-to-drink coffee for the first time with two flavors—Salted Caramel and Almond Toffee—of Gold Peak Coffee.
Hubert's Lemonade has been around for more than 80 years. However, it will debut at the NACS Show as part of the Coca-Cola portfolio for the first time. Coca-Cola added Hubert's to its product lineup in 2015, when the company acquired 17% of Monster Beverage Corp. and effectively traded its energy drinks for Monster's nonenergy drinks. A new flavor, Pineapple Ginger, will launch in 2017.
Coca-Cola will highlight several products in its Venturing & Emerging Brands unit during the NACS Show, perhaps best represented by Aloe Gloe. The beverage maker bought a minority equity stake in the organic aloe water in June 2016 and now begins the tasks of introducing it to a wider consumer audience and bringing it to market. It comes in four flavors: Crisp Aloe, Coconut, Lemonade and White Grape.
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