Mixing booze with Coke is not a new thing.
But now, Coca-Cola’s Japanese arm has seemingly caught on to that fact, with the news it’ll look to release an alcoholic drink for the first time in history.
It’ll be what’s called a Chu-Hi in Japan: A canned, ready-to-drink alcoholic beverage that’s traditionally made with the spirit shōchū, carbonated water, and lemon.
You can get Chu-Hi in flavours like lime, grapefruit, among others, and can get as strong as 9 percent alcohol. While Coca-Cola haven’t released any detail about the product, it appears they won’t be dropping anything too heavyweight.
“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,” president of Coca-Cola Japan, Jorge Garduño, said on the company blog.
Around the world, The Coca-Cola Company has looked to innovate with variations of the drink to stem plummeting soda sales.
Some of these have been in the low or no sugar category, such as the poorly performing Coca-Cola Life. Others experimented with unconventional flavours, like Coca-Cola Ginger and Coca-Cola Plus Coffee No Sugar.
As for boozy Coke, it’s very likely you’ll only be able to buy this in Japan, given the specific market it’s trying to compete in.
“It makes sense to give this a try in our market. But I don’t think people around the world should expect to see this kind of thing from Coca-Cola,” Garduño added.
“While many markets are becoming more like Japan, I think the culture here is still very unique and special, so many products that are born here will stay here.”
Coca-Cola have every incentive to do so, with Japan’s ready-to-drink alcohol market growing 13 percent in 2016, according to Euromonitor.
Appealing to women and younger people, Chu-Hi drinks enjoy lower taxes if they don’t exceed 9 percent alcohol, thanks to Japan’s complex alcohol taxation system.
Original article by Johnny Lieu