Coke ventures into alcohol-based drink in Japan
30 May 2018
1
The 132-year old Beverages major Coca-Cola has launched its first ever alcoholic drink.
Launched in Japan on Monday, the drink, with a lemon-flavour, is available in 3 per cent, 5 per cent and 7 per cent alcohol variants and a salt-lemon version.
A variant of popular Japanese "chuhai", popular among young women, the drink, branded Lemon-Do, will be available in 350 cans for ¥ 150 (approximately $1.50), though sales will initially be in Japan's southern prefecture of Kyushu.
Coca-Cola, which has a large presence in Japan, hopes to cash in the popularity of Chuhai, which is made from rice, barley or sweet potatoes.
AFP quoted Coca-Cola Japan's spokesperson Masaki Lida, “This is a pilot project in the region, which has a sizable market.” Lida did not reveal the exact spirit in the drink, as the recipe is a closely guarded secret.
Coca Cola product developers got the idea after visiting Japanese-style “izakaya” pubs, where they discovered that lemon-flavoured drinks to be very popular, the report added.
