Coke's newest drink is just a few drops
(Najamuddin Ghanghro, Karachi (Original from Larkana))
Coca-Cola's newest drink won't
come in a bottle or a can. And people will only need a squirt or two to quench
their thirst.
The world's largest beverage company is introducing its Dasani Drops in coming
weeks, which can be squeezed into water for some on-the-spot fruity flavour. And
Coca-Cola is betting that there's big potential for growth.
"I think there's an opportunity beyond just flavoured waters," said John Roddey,
vice president of Coca-Cola's water, tea and coffee business in North America.
Although there are no set plans yet, Roddey says the next logical category for
liquid drops would be tea. That's because drinks with higher sugar content are
harder to turn into a liquid concentrate.
The Coca-Cola Co isn't the first to come out with flavour drops. The category
was pioneered by Kraft Food Inc's MiO, which was introduced in March of last
year and has quickly spawned copycats, including by supermarkets that sell
store-brand versions.
The drops are popular because they come in small, portable containers that can
be easily tucked into a purse or even back pocket. And unlike powdered drink
packets, people can decide how much or little they want to squirt into their
water. A small bottle can also have more than two dozen servings, meaning people
save money they'd spend on bottled teas or enhanced waters.
As with Kraft's MiO drinks, Dasani Drops use artificial sweeteners and have zero
calories.
Now Coca-Cola is preparing to leverage its scale to stake a claim in the
category. Roddey says the plan is to make Dasani Drops available wherever its
Dasani bottled water is sold, including on supermarket shelves, in checkout
aisles or in the refrigerated sections in convenience stores.
"We're looking to make this as broad as we can," he said.
Dasani Drops, which will cost about $US4 ($A3.91), will start hitting shelves in
early October. The company is starting with four flavours, but is already
planning to introduce additional flavours next year. Each bottle has about 32
servings.