Breaking 125-year history, Coca-Cola will launch alcoholic beverages

Breaking 125-year history, Coca-Cola will launch alcoholic beverages (Central News Agency, Tokyo, 7th comprehensive foreign news report) The American soft drink industry giant Coca-Cola is planning to...

(Central News Agency, Tokyo, 7th comprehensive foreign news report) The American soft drink industry giant Coca-Cola is planning to break its 125-year history and prepare to launch alcoholic beverage products for the first time. They want to ride on the Chu-Hai sparkling wine craze that is gaining popularity in Japan and sell similar canned sparkling liqueur locally.

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reported that the alcohol content of Chu-Hai sparkling wine is usually between 3% and 8%. Jorge Garduno, president of Coca-Cola Japan, said the move was "a small trial targeting a small, specific segment of our market."

Giardino also said: "We have never experimented in the low-alcohol beverage market. This will demonstrate how we can continue to develop opportunities in areas outside of our core business." However, he hinted that the drink will likely not be sold outside Japan.

Chu-Hai is the abbreviation of Japanese highball bartending. The product is promoted as an alternative to beer and is particularly popular with female consumers.

Japan's three major beverage companies, Kirin Holdings Co., Suntory Holdings Ltd. and Asahi Group Holdings Ltd., have all launched different versions of Chu-Hai sparkling wine and continue to develop new flavors.

The most popular Chu-Hai sparkling wines are citrus flavors such as grapefruit and lemon, as well as other fruit flavors such as grape, apple and peach.

On the other hand, as young consumers become more health-conscious, Coca-Cola continues to develop products other than sparkling beverages, including the launch of bottled water and tea. (Translator: Zhang Zhengqian/Verification: Zhang Youzhi)