by Treva Bennett/staff writer
The Coca-Cola Co. showcased a variety of innovation and actionable insights at the 2019 NACS Show, held in October at the World Congress Center in Atlanta. New products and new flavors will be introduced early this year, with a few released in late 2019.
According to J.C. Harvey, director of retail channel strategy and commercialization for Coca-Cola North America, between 2017 and 2018, total Coca-Cola system beverages grew at more than two and a half times that of total beverages.
In its efforts to be a total beverage company, Coca-Cola has to continue to enter new categories, new flavors and new formats, Harvey said. But delivering beverages is not enough. Coca-Cola also wants to be the best business partner for its convenience store customers, which is why it provides actionable insights.
Coca-Cola Energy leads innovation
Leading the innovation showcase is Coke’s first foray into the energy drink category under the Coca-Cola trademark brand.
“It’s really intended to be the energy you want with the taste that you love,” Harvey said.
He said according to Nielsen household panel data for 2018, household penetration of energy drinks is only 43 percent, but it is a multi-billion-dollar category.
“Coke Energy is really intended to be a more approachable offering in the energy category that’s especially appealing to people who have yet to enter the category,” Harvey said.
Coke Energy is offered in two flavors—cola and cherry, and two versions—sugar and zero sugar. Each 12-oz. can has 114mg of caffeine, guarana extracts and B vitamins, and each sugar-version can has 140 calories. The cola-forward flavor of Coke Energy is “a very, very different taste from anything you’ve had right up until now in the energy category,” Harvey said.
Cherry Vanilla Coke
Cherry Vanilla Coke will continue to grow the flavored cola category, now a $1 billion-plus category, Harvey said.
Cherry vanilla is the No. 1 flavored cola for Millennials and multicultural consumers, and it is the No. 1 flavored cola in Coke’s Freestyle dispensers, he said.
Cherry Vanilla Coke will be available in full-sugar and zero-sugar versions.
Cinnamon Coke
“Coca-Cola is the No. 1 brand associated with the holidays,” Harvey said. “Cinnamon is the No. 1 flavor associated with the holiday season.”
Coke Cinnamon is available in a sugar-only version and was sold through December.
Sprite Winter Spiced Cranberry
As a complement to Coke Cinnamon, Sprite introduced its Winter Spiced Cranberry flavor for the 2019 holiday season.
“We’ve taken cranberry with the perfect blend of spices that really work with the boldness of Sprite,” Harvey said.
Fanta Piña Colada
Fanta Piña ColadaFanta Piña Colada is coming in 2020, capitalizing on the trend of exotic plus mainstream fusions.
“This is also the highest-rated purchase intent of any Fanta flavor we’ve tested in the brand’s history,” he said.
Dunkin’ Cold Brew
Dunkin’ Cold Brew is being launched to complement the total Dunkin’ portfolio. Cold brew is the fastest growing segment in the coffee category, Harvey said, as people want smoother, less acidic coffee with less sugar and fewer calories.
Midnight Black has 30 calories per serving, one serving per bottle; Caramel Black has 40 calories. There is no zero-sugar version.
Core Power Elite Strawberry
Strawberry complements the flavors already available in Core Power Elite high-protein shakes—vanilla and chocolate.
“It’s Elite because it’s 42 grams of protein vs. our regular Core Power, which is 26,” Harvey said. “It’s a high protein shake really designed for athletic recovery and building lean muscle.”
Peace Tea
The company’s Peace Tea line is introducing a new sugar flavor, Hello Mango, and a zero-sugar version of its Razzleberry flavor.
Peace Tea comes in a large can—23 oz.
Simply Tea
Simply Tea is Coca-Cola’s new line of real brewed tea made with not-from-concentrate fruit juice. It also has no artificial colors, flavors or preservatives.
Three flavors are launching: Simply Tea with Lemon, Simply Tea with Raspberry and Simply Tea with Peach.
Each serving is 77 calories. It is not zero sugar but still meets the need for lower calorie beverages, Harvey said.
Odwalla Zero Sugar
Odwalla has a new line of sugar-free flavored smoothies. It is a good source of protein, but it’s also keto friendly and gluten free, with 3g of net carbs per bottle, Harvey said.
Three flavor varieties are available: Vanilla Matcha, Strawberries & Cream and Dark Choco-Berry.
Minute Maid Blue Raspberry
Blue raspberry is a very popular flavor, Harvey said, and another emerging trend among juice drinks.
“Minute Maid has a very strong brand equity among juice drinks,” he said. “Blue raspberry is our No. 1 flavor in frozen carbonated within the Minute Maid brand.”
Gomega
Gomega is a new brand and new line of superfusion juice drinks. It was brought to market by Coca-Cola’s transformational innovation team.
“This product went from concept all the way to market delivery in 20 weeks. It’s the fastest in the history of the company,” Harvey said.
Gomega contains 32mg of DHA omega 3, vitamin C and vitamin E. Each bottle is 25 calories.
It will be available in three flavors: Berry Acai, Strawberry Guava and Mango Passionfruit. It’s kosher, vegan, gluten-free and soy free.
Smartwater
Smartwater is introducing four new flavors—Pineapple Kiwi, Strawberry Blackberry, Cucumber Lime and Watermelon Mint. The water is lightly infused with natural herbal and fruit flavors, but “it’s still the same vapor-distilled, water-infused product that you expect with Smartwater,” Harvey said.
Actionable insights benefit customers
In an effort to be a better business partner to its c-store customers, Coca-Cola partnered with NACS this year to conduct a study to determine how many people just gas and go (74 percent) and how to get them inside the store.
“If we can just lower that by 1 percent, that’s an incremental $72 million to the channel per month. A little bit goes a long way,” Harvey said.
The study suggests using signage at the pump to promote special offers on food and drinks or discounts on fuel when shoppers make a purchase inside.
Gas shoppers are most influenced to make a purchase by store atmosphere and rewards. Ensure the store has good lighting, clean restrooms and an inviting atmosphere.
“Rounding out the whole piece is also being digitally savvy,” Harvey said. “…Data’s great, but recommendations are better, so we’ve outlined good, better and best options to drive people in the store.”
Beverage segmentation
Coca-Cola’s beverage segmentation, as part of its actionable insights, includes competitive products.
“You have to serve the whole cold vault to understand what the right assortment is,” Harvey said. “It’s not just the assortment, it’s what point-of-sale messages are we delivering.”
Coca-Cola uses its internal data as well as leveraging syndicated data to create an overlay. Harvey said building new stores or remodeling old ones is very expensive.
“This is a capability that you can use to do more with what you already have by creating the right signage and the right beverage assortment for your specific store,” he said.
For example, Melting Pot is a multicultural segment with a mix of incomes. By trying to serve only middle- to low-income shoppers in a Melting Pot store, a lot of money is being left on the table, Harvey said.
By contrast, Comfortable is a more suburban, high-income segment, predominantly Caucasian, which would lead to a very different assortment and messaging.
Looking at the cold vault, the Comfortable segment would offer more zero-based beverages. These are consumers with higher incomes, looking for more of the “better for you” options, Harvey said. If you switch to Mid-scale, it’s more of the sugar-based beverages because that’s what the shopper is purchasing.
“If you have a Comfortable characteristic store in a Mid-scale market, not only are you not winning, your competition—if they follow the segmentation rule—is taking it from you,” Harvey said. “It really becomes something that you have to do. It will be table stakes—having to know your local shopper.”
Coca-Cola also can use a store’s street address to tell customers definitively what segment they fall into and what their assortment and messaging should be for their typical shoppers.
“That’s how our segmentation is definitely different from whatever else is out there,” Harvey said.
