Coca-Cola to start making alcohol

  • 08/03/2018
Coca-Cola will be rolling out experimental alcoholic drinks in Japan.
Coca-Cola will be rolling out experimental alcoholic drinks in Japan. Photo credit: Getty

For the first time in its history, Coca-Cola will start producing alcoholic drinks. 

Jorge Garduño, president of the company's Japan business unit, revealed in February that Coca-Cola plans to experiment with making beverages that contain alcohol.

In an interview published on the official Coca-Cola website, he said they were looking into developing their own version of Chu-Hi, a Japanese 'alcopop'.

Chu-Hi are canned beverages consisting of flavoured sparkling water and 'shochu', a distilled alcohol. The drinks are extremely popular in Japan and are available in a wide array of flavours. 

Mr Garduño said the foray into the alcoholic market marked a new era of experimentation or the company. 

"Coca-Cola has always focused entirely on non-alcoholic beverages, and this is a modest experiment for a specific slice of our market."

He said it was unlikely that the alcoholic drinks would be sold outside of Japan. 

The move could be an attempt to boost falling sales for Coca-Cola. Soft drink consumption has dropped around the world as more people become aware of its high sugar levels.  

Coca-Cola announced in January that it would not be changing its iconic recipe to meet the restrictions of a new sugar tax that will come into effect from April. 

Instead bottles of soft drink will be made smaller and more expensive, with price increases of more than 10 percent for some multi-packs.  

Newshub.