I recently caught a tantalizing tidbit in a food industry newsletter and followed it to its source. An article titled "An herbal drink from Coca Cola?" from the Austin American-Statesman, states that Coca Cola is up to something big. Really big.


"For months, the Atlanta-based drinks giant has been working quietly to perfect prototype beverages using Chinese herbal cures. Analysts and executives suggest the project could be as important to the company's future asits original formula was to its past."
How cool is that? If this seems somewhat far-fetched, let's remember that the original Coke formula is a blend of South American coca leaves and African kola nuts (the caffeine source), as the article aptly points out. Given the attention functional foods and beverages are getting these days, and their high growth potential, I think Coke is onto something here.
Let's also remember that collaborating with the Chinese when it comes to herbs, is also a great idea. Chinese herbal medicine has been around for thousands of years, so the Chinese are a font of information. Even though this seems to be a top secret project, a short news release did apparently state that Coke and the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences had opened "a research center in Beijing last October."
A few tantalizing tidbits have come out here and there. This one caught my eye: "Access Asia, a Shanghai-based market research firm, said in a January report that Coke's aim could be nothing less than to create 'the new product for the new millennium'."
Could it be that a new brand of soft drink is about to be born? One sans sugar? One with healthy herbal ingredients? Could this start a revolution in the beverage industry as Coca Cola did over 100 years ago?
If it does, Coca Cola has a unique opportunity, it seems to me. The company blended exotic ingredients in the past to create a brand new category. It could conceivably do so again–and do it while being in touch with a new era, new consumers and new ideas. . .while still being true to its legacy. Gotta love that.
The worldwide market would be huge right out of the chute for such a new product. North America, Europe, Asia. . .all moving toward functionals in a big way. . . The market is primed and ready. If you ask me, success for such a drink; or drinks (more than one formula may be in the offing) will all boil down to a few factors, as they always do with foods or beverages:
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Taste and aftertaste profiles
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Mouth feel
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Market positioning
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Major features and selling points
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Healthy herbs explained without making undue claims–a major sticking point with FDA
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Packaging
Questions:
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What do you think of Coke's potential new drink(s)?
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Would you be willing to try a brand new beverage product if Coca Cola was behind it?
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Or would you be reticent, preferring to buy bona fide healthy beverages associated as the mainstay of other brands instead?
I'd love to hear from you.