Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE:KO) hasn't made an alcoholic drink in its 130-year history, but its unit in Japan is preparing to break the mould by entering the country's "alcopop" market.
Jorge Garduño, president of Coca-Cola’s Japan unit, said in a Q&A on the unit's website that it is "going to experiment with a product in a category known in Japan as Chu-Hi" -- a canned drink that contains alcohol.
Garduño said Chu-Hi drinks traditionally are made with a distilled spirit called shōchū and sparkling water, plus some flavouring.
"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," he said.
Whether Coca-Cola will begin pushing alcoholic beverages outside Japan is open to question, based on Garduño's online comments.
Chu-Hi: It's a Japanese thing
Garduño noted that Coca-Cola "has always focused entirely on non-alcoholic beverages, and this is a modest experiment for a specific slice of our market."
"The Chu-Hi category is found almost exclusively in Japan," Garduño said. "Globally, it’s not uncommon for non-alcoholic beverages to be sold in the same system as alcoholic beverages. 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. 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."
Still, it is apparent that Coca-Cola and its business units are trying to expand their product offerings beyond traditional soda-pop offerings as consumer tastes change and they become more health conscious.
As Garduño noted in the online interview," We’re trying to push the boundaries to serve consumers in new ways." In Japan, its Ayataka tea brand will be introducing a new flavour for "consumers who prefer light taste yet still want to enjoy the richness of green tea." And in the sparkling drink category, Garduño said the Japan unit is introducing "THE TANSAN, which features the strongest carbonation ever in our products in this country, to reach health-conscious adult sparkling lovers."
The full interview can be found here.