Previously Movendi International reported how Coca-Cola joined with Big Alcohol and launched three alcopops in Japan in May 2018. Then this multinational corporate giant went on to introduce a range of premium mixers for the UK in 2019. The company has also been pursuing the wine business trying to acquire wine operations of Pernod Ricard. Coca-Cola seems to be aggressively pursuing alcohol business marketing different products that appeal to different communities across the world.
Now, Coca-Cola has joined with Molson Coors to launch an alcopop range under the brand Topo Chico marketed as a hard seltzer in four flavors. The new alcohol with 4.7% alcohol volume is expected to come into the US market by 2021. It has already been launched in Mexico and Brazil.
Topo Chico is a 125 year old Mexican brand associated with their popular sparkling mineral water. A strategically planned move, no doubt, by Coca-Cola to influence the existing consumers of the mineral water to purchase the new alcohol products. Research has found that brand specific marketing leads to increased brand specific consumption among underage youth. A major target group of Big Alcohol who are specifically attracted to alcopops.
Meanwhile for Molson Coors this is another strategy to grow their market and influence more people to buy alcohol. According to Reuters, Molson Coors shares were up about 4% in early trading.
Joining Big Alcohol, with the launch of alcoholic sugary mixers in both the Japanese and Western European market, as well as the latest push into American markets, these products aim at a growing market of young alcohol users and women and firmly cement Coca-Cola as Big Alcohol player.
With the push into Big Alcohol, Coca-Cola is single-handedly fueling three major risk factors for the growing global non-communicable disease (NCD) burden – unhealthy sugary drinks, alcohol and pollution – ranked 1st for pollution in the 2019 Break Free From Plastic audit.