Coca-Cola European Partners (CCEP) will bring vanilla and cherry flavours into its zero-sugar range, with a first product to launch in April.
Coca-Cola Zero Sugar vanilla will be available in 330ml, 500ml and 1.75 litre bottle formats, as well as an eight-count multipack of 330ml cans.
It will be followed by a reformulated version of Coke Zero cherry, which will feature the improved taste of the Coca-Cola Zero Sugar brand when it launches in the summer. The flavour had been the only Coke Zero variant not to adopt the brand’s new livery when it relaunched last year.
Both products extend the availability of Coke’s vanilla and cherry flavours; vanilla is already available as part of the classic Coca-Cola trademark, and has been incremental to the brand since its launch in 2013; while cherry-flavoured Coke can be seen across the company’s Diet Coke, Coke Zero and Coca-Cola variants.
CCEP announced the relaunch of Coca-Cola Zero Sugar to be more like the original in April, followed by a £10 million investment in July.
Coca-Cola European Partners operational marketing director Simon Harrison said: “The launch of Coca-Cola Zero Sugar vanilla and the reformulation of Coke Zero cherry to the new Coca-Cola Zero Sugar recipe are exciting next steps for a brand that has already enjoyed fantastic success since it launched last summer because of its sugar-free credentials and great taste.
“The new vanilla variant is designed to encourage more people to drink Coca-Cola Zero Sugar by offering a sugar-free option of a popular flavour variant. This along with the cherry variant will help retailers to increase their sales of soft drinks by offering more choice and appealing to shoppers who are increasingly health-conscious, but don’t want to compromise on taste.”
Sales of Coca-Cola Zero Sugar have been 63% incremental to the cola sector since its launch, and the new vanilla variant is designed to build on this success by tapping into the growing consumer trend for low-calorie flavour options.
The launch will be supported with point-of-sale, out of home, digital and social media campaigns to drive consumer awareness.
The 500ml PET and 330ml can formats will also be available in price-marked packs, which CCEP described as ‘an effective way of encouraging consumers to try new products’.
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