The Coca-Cola Company today announced the addition of three brands to
its growing roster of beverages that generate annual retail sales of
more than $1 billion, bringing to 20 the number of billion-dollar brands
in the Company’s portfolio.
Brands from the fast-growing ready-to-drink tea and water categories are
the latest additions with Gold Peak tea, available in the United States,
FUZE TEA, sold in nearly 40 countries, and I LOHAS mineral water, sold
in Japan, joining the Company’s billion-dollar club in 2014.
“We are taking definitive steps to capture the enormous growth
opportunities available to us in the global nonalcoholic ready-to-drink
beverage industry,” said Muhtar Kent, Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer, The Coca-Cola Company. “Through a strong global focus on
building locally relevant and innovative brands, our Company, together
with a network of strong local bottling partners, has worked to
successfully double the size of our billion-dollar brand portfolio in
less than a decade.”
Gold Peak and FUZE TEA join Japan’s billion-dollar green tea brand,
Ayataka, as the Company’s largest brands in the global ready-to-drink
tea category, each of which has been launched since 2006. The success of
these brands has propelled the Company’s tea portfolio to substantially
outpace the growth of the category globally over the past two years,
while gaining market share on both a volume and value basis.
Gold Peak, a premium tea brand developed by the Company, debuted in 2006
and has been growing double digits since its launch. In 2014, the
Company launched an integrated marketing campaign for Gold Peak that
included national television, print, outdoor and digital and social
media advertising. It is one of the fastest-growing national iced tea
brands and drove nearly 30% of all dollar growth in the ready-to-drink
tea category last year. Gold Peak is sold in multiple varieties,
including Sweet Tea, Lemonade Tea, Unsweetened Tea, Diet Tea, Raspberry
Flavored Tea and Green Tea.
FUZE TEA launched in 2012 in 14 international markets simultaneously.
Since its introduction, the brand has expanded availability to nearly 40
markets around the world, reaching billion-dollar status in less than
three years on the market. The FUZE TEA line-up currently features more
than 30 varieties, including Black Tea with Lemon, Black Tea with Peach,
Black Tea with Lemongrass and Apple, Green Tea with Mango and Chamomile,
and zero-calorie Light Tea. FUZE TEA will be launched in additional
markets in 2015.
Coca-Cola Japan launched the water brand I LOHAS in 2009. Since its
launch, it has become the No. 1 immediate consumption mineral water
brand sold in Japan. The Company has taken recent steps to significantly
grow I LOHAS with the introduction of a new line of single-serve 515 ml
I LOHAS sparkling beverages in plain and lemon flavors as well as a new
larger 1,555 ml package in the convenience store channel.
Since 2007, the Company has added 10 brands to its billion-dollar
portfolio across a broad range of beverage categories including
sparkling, juice, water and tea. Additions include Coca-Cola Zero,
Simply, Minute Maid Pulpy, Del Valle, Bonaqua, Ayataka and vitaminwater.
Behind the 20 billion-dollar brands is a pipeline of 16 sparkling and
still brands that generate annual retail sales between $500 million and
$1 billion – several of which are poised to become billion-dollar brands.
For more information please see www.coca-colacompany.com/billion-dollar-tea-brands
NOTE TO EDITORS:
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billion-dollar brands fact sheet and visuals for this release at:
http://coca-colacompany.com/brands/billion-dollar-brands
About The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is the world's largest beverage
company, refreshing consumers with more than 500 sparkling and still
brands. Led by Coca-Cola, one of the world's most valuable and
recognizable brands, our Company's portfolio features 20 billion-dollar
brands including Diet Coke, Fanta, Sprite, Coca-Cola Zero, vitaminwater,
Powerade, Minute Maid, Simply, Georgia and Del Valle. Globally, we are
the No. 1 provider of sparkling beverages, ready-to-drink coffees, and
juices and juice drinks. Through the world's largest beverage
distribution system, consumers in more than 200 countries enjoy our
beverages at a rate of 1.9 billion servings a day. With an enduring
commitment to building sustainable communities, our Company is focused
on initiatives that reduce our environmental footprint, support active,
healthy living, create a safe, inclusive work environment for our
associates, and enhance the economic development of the communities
where we operate. Together with our bottling partners, we rank among the
world's top 10 private employers with more than 700,000 system
associates. For more information, visit Coca-Cola Journey at www.coca-colacompany.com,
follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/CocaColaCo, visit our blog,
Coca-Cola Unbottled, at www.coca-colablog.com
or find us on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/the-coca-cola-company.
Copyright Business Wire 2015