Photo: Sam Greenwood/Getty Images
Even though Coca-Cola is still reeling in the big bucks and is the king of soft drinks, they still want to shake things up, so for the first time in their 125 year history, Coke is launching their own alcoholic drink. The only issue? It’s only happening in good old Japan for now.
The drink, called Chu-Hi, will be introduced to lucky folks in Japan soon, and will have between 3 percent and 8 percent alcohol by volume. Here’s what Jorge Garduño, Coke’s Japan president, had to say about this:
“This is a canned drink that includes alcohol; traditionally, it is made with a distilled beverage called shochu and sparkling water, plus some flavoring. 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.
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.”
According to the NY Post, “alcopops” are already pretty popular in Japan, so Coke will be facing some tough competition. So while “alcopops” are increasing in demand, the want for soft drinks are decreasing across the globe, so it seems something has to be done.
While there is no time table as to when this new Coke flavor will be released in Japan, we do know one thing for certain: they won’t be getting released in America.
