This move marks the company's entry into the new hard seltzer market (low-alcohol carbonated drinks).
The drink will be presented under the Topo Chico brand. And the first market where buyers can try it will be Latin America, where it will be on sale in several major cities. With a successful start, the drink will later be available in other countries.
The Topo Chico brand was acquired Coca-Cola in 2017 for $220 million. Often used in cocktails, this Mexican brand of sparkling mineral water has been in production since 1895 and has a dedicated following. This brand was popular mainly in Mexico and Texas, while the acquisition of Coca-Cola allowed the brand to find new fans in the United States. It is assumed that the use of a name well known to customers in an updated capacity will help Coca-Cola gain a foothold in a new market for itself.
The category of low-alcohol soda is growing rapidly and represents one of the fastest growing segments of the beverage market. It is believed that such drinks, when compared with the usual beer, are lighter and not as unhealthy. In the past few years, consumers have increasingly preferred them as an alternative to other low-alcohol drinks.
So, according to the Nielsen report, at the beginning of 2018, only 10 brands of hard seltzer were represented on the market, the number of which increased to 26 by the beginning of 2019. And in mid-2020, about 65 brands of low-alcohol carbonated water compete on the market. At the same time, in the first week of July, sales of low-alcohol carbonated drinks in the United States exceeded $110 million, more than double the figures for the same period in 2019.
Many well-known companies strive to take their place under the sun and present their brand in this category. In May, for example, another market giant Anheuser-Busch launched a new drink called Social Club Seltzer.
