Coke to launch ready-to-drink coffee in a joint venture
Coca-Cola has signed a global joint venture with Italian espresso coffee maker Illycaffe in a bid to up its presence in the read-to-drink (RTD) coffee market.
No further details are available about the launch of the new drink. The deal will see Coke distribute the product across the globe.
Muhtar kent, president and chief operating officer of Coke, says: We will be able to bring our brand building and distributing expertise together with Illy’s premium brand reputation.”
The RTD coffee market is valued at around $10bn ((£4.9bn) globally and over the past five years it has grown at over 10% across all markets excluding Japan.
Coke has undergone an aggressive new product strategy in recent years, as it looks to diversify its product portfolio.
Observers have speculated that Coke would look to challenge the dominance of Starbucks and Pepsi in the RTD coffee market.
Illycaffe is sold in 140 countries across the world.
No financial details of the deal have been disclosed.
