An Instagram account that features new confectionery and soda products recently posted a photo of a purported “Coca-Cola with Coffee” range (caramel, vanilla, and dark blend flavors) to be launched in the U.S. beginning in April. However, a Coca-Cola spokesperson said the company is “not at a place” to confirm a launch of the product line “at this time.” Coca-Cola launched Coke Plus Coffee in Australia in 2017 in a roll-out that has since hit other markets.[Image Credit: © The Coca-Cola Company]
Coca-Cola and China’s largest online retailer JD.com have partnered in a search for new plastic recycling technology. The Chinese company will apply its nationwide logistics system in a pilot project to help collect used beverage bottles from households. The collected bottles are being sent to recycling facilities in partnership with Coca-Cola, where they’ll enter the circular value chain. JD.com launched its Green Stream Initiative in 2017 to reduce the environmental impact of logistics activities. Between June 2017 and December 2019, the company cut use of disposable packaging by nearly 30,000 tons, saving a million tons of paper. Coca-Cola unveiled its World Without Waste initiative two years ago to help collect and recycle the equivalent of 100 percent of its packaging globally by 2030. The recycling partnership was announced at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.[Image Credit: © JD.com]
Coca-Cola CO. announced during the Choose France Summit (Versailles, France) that it will invest, along with its bottling partner Coca-Cola European Partners (CCEP), $1.1 billion to introduce new products into the French market. The companies said they will expand bottling capacity and modernize CCEP's manufacturing plants. The investment will also be used for innovations and support of company brands. They are also planning to support the hosting of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Investments made to the five CCEP plants in France will enable use of more recycled material in bottles and cans. The company will also replace plastic with cardboard for secondary packaging and introduce new cooling equipment for customers.[Image Credit: © The Coca-Cola Company]
Bottling firm Coca-Cola European Partners (CCEP) has expanded its Monster Energy drink line with two new variants, Monster Pacific Punch and Monster Ultra Paradise. Monster Ultra Paradise features hints of kiwi, lime, and cucumber with no calories and no sugar. The Pacific Punch variant uses real fruit juice and flavors inspired by traditional tropical punch. The company’s current range includes Mango Loco and Pipeline Punch. Both new variants are available in the U.K. market, and consumers can purchase Monster Ultra Paradise for $1.69 and Monster Pacific Punch for $1.82. According to the company, energy beverages in the country have grown by $139 million over the last two years with Monster contributing $89 million in value “thanks to a growing core range, innovative new flavors, and impactful marketing campaigns.”[Image Credit: © Coca-Cola European Partners]
G Fuel (Gamma Labs, West Babylon, N.Y.) announced the launch of a sugar-free "French vanilla" coffee flavor, a powder designed to be mixed with water or milk. The beverage, featuring antioxidants from 19 fruit extracts, delivers 10 calories and 140 mg of caffeine per serving along with “energy and focus-enhancing complexes.” G Fuel French Vanilla will be available for sale in 40-serving tubs and limited-edition collectors boxes, which include one French Vanilla tub and one 16 oz. "The Coffee Cup" shaker cup, at its online store.[Image Credit: © PR Newswire Association LLC]
Beverage-makers are increasingly boosting the functionality of their products to help customers achieve personal lifestyle and health and wellness goals. According to Niles, Ill.-based beverage development consultancy Imbibe, consumers are purchasing more expensive premium products – often spontaneously – that not only taste good but fulfill “a need in-the-moment.” Among these products are drinks that deliver key nutrients, energy, digestive health, enhanced mood, and relaxation – and all “are expected to experience significant growth as well in the next few years.” These trends have helped develop a hybrid beverage market whose products that combine ingredients to address multiple needs or include several harmonizing ingredients that target a specific goal. Among the many examples is energy drinks that incorporate functional ingredients beyond caffeine, such as familiar sports nutrition ingredients creatine, electrolytes, and branch-chain amino acids (BCAAs). All have gained ample shelf space at specialty, convenience, and grocery stores.[Image Credit: © GT’s Living Foods]
Swedish pea protein milk brand Sproud will be introduced in the U.S. this week at the 2020 Winter Fancy Food Show in San Francisco. Ethical Brands (Red Bank, N.J.), parent company of plant-based pasta brand Explore Cuisine, said it formed a distribution and marketing partnership with the brand last year to work toward its goal of offering sustainably-sourced, plant-based products to consumers. Explore Cuisine and Sproud share Ethical Brands’ target consumer: flexitarians interested in a “new generation of plant-based products.” Sproud partnered with Ethical Brands in January 2019 to expand distribution to Norway, Finland, Denmark, and the U.K. Sproud milks will have an SRP of $3.45 to $3.99 for a one-liter carton, the standard size for the product internationally. The company is also launching Sproud Nutrition, a line of pea protein-based pre-workout and protein powders in the second half of 2020 in the U.K., then later in North America.[Image Credit: © WMake Brands AB]
U.K. soft drinks manufacturer Kolibri Drinks has added an alcohol-free CBD cocktail range that is customizable using its patented dosage caps. Kolibri CBD Cocktails’ flavor cap allows drinkers to control how much CBD is in the drink. The CBD lineup includes Dark Forest and Citrus Grove; each cap contains 20 mg of broad-spectrum CBD drops. According to the company, the micro-dosage cap – invented in 2018 to allow personal control of a drink’s sugar content – preserves the potency of the CBD “so that consumers experience its full potential." Kolibri, which developed the broad-spectrum CBD with a Colorado-based laboratory, is selling the beverages at British health foods retailer Holland & Barrett for $7.80 per 30 cl bottle.[Image Credit: © Kolibri Drinks]