Coca-Cola in secret plans for vanilla-flavoured drink
By Richard Tomkins, Consumer Industries Editor
Published: March 31 2002 19:51 | Last Updated: March 31 2002 21:05
news.ft.com
Coca-Cola, the US soft drinks company, is secretly working on plans to launch a vanilla-flavoured version of its flagship Coke drink.
If the project goes ahead, the new drink - probably named Vanilla Coke - will be the biggest launch of a new Coca-Cola product since the disastrous introduction of New Coke 16 years ago.
Coca-Cola would not confirm or deny it was considering the launch, saying only that "we've always got a number of things in development". But the latest edition of Beverage Digest, a respected industry newsletter, will reach subscribers this week quoting one US bottler as saying: "It's over 90 per cent [certain], and it's a great idea."
John Sicher, Beverage Digest's publisher, said numerous people in the Coca-Cola system had led him to believe there was "a strong chance" the company would launch a vanilla-flavoured cola in the US "within the next few months".
He said the plan was "well beyond the idea stage" and some people had seen working versions of the label. Bottlers he had spoken to were "very enthusiastic" about the project.
Coke is the world's most valuable brand and the Coca-Cola company has traditionally been extremely cautious about extending it to other drinks or products for fear of diluting it.
Although the company introduced a lemon-flavoured version of its Diet Coke last year, the only flavoured version of standard Coke it has ever made is Cherry Coke, launched in March 1985.
However, cola drinks are losing market share to other soft drinks in the US, putting manufacturers under pressure to reinvigorate sales with new products. Last year, according to Beverage Digest, Coke's volume declined 2 per cent in the US in spite of a big increase in advertising.
PepsiCo, maker of Pepsi-Cola, is also feeling the pressure. Pepsi's volume fell 2.8 per cent in the US last year, and the company last summer introduced Pepsi Twist, a lemon-flavoured variant of its flagship drink.
Vanilla Coke already has a popular following in the US. People make it by adding a shot of vanilla syrup - the sort used for flavouring coffee and pouring over desserts - to a glass of ordinary Coke.
It is widely sold in cafes, diners and restaurants, along with other locally flavoured variations of standard Coke such as raspberry, lemon and chocolate.
Coca-Cola's last big launch of a cola product was in April 1985, when the company changed the 99-year-old formula of traditional Coca-Cola and replaced the drink with New Coke. The move caused a national outcry in the US, where it was seen as akin to replacing the Stars and Stripes with a new, improved version.
Coca-Cola was eventually forced to bring back the old formula but ended up with an increased market share.
Douglas Daft, who became Coca-Cola's chairman and chief executive two years ago, is under intense pressure to revitalise the company's flagging growth by improving marketing and introducing new products. |
