Costa launches first ready-to-drink product

Coca-Cola is launching a low sugar ready-to-drink Costa product in its first move since the FMCG giant bought the coffee brand.

Costa Coffee Ready-To-Drink  includes three of the brand’s most popular variants – Classic Latte, Caramel Latte and Black Americano.

The range, which will be sold in 250ml cans which are 100% recyclable, will launch in countries where Costa has a strong presence and will be supported by a marketing campaign including out-of-home, digital, PR and sampling.

The drinks will come to the UK later this month, followed closely by launches in Poland and China, with further roll-outs planned for later in the year.

“Our teams at Coca-Cola and Costa Coffee have been working around-the-clock to make our shared vision of Costa Coffee ready-to-drink coffee a reality,” says Jennifer Mann, senior vice president and President of Global Ventures for Coca-Cola

“This demonstrates the power of our partnership. It combines the marketing expertise, global scale and distribution credentials of the Coca-Cola system with Costa Coffee’s expertise and capabilities in coffee.”

The chilled canned coffee promises 30% less sugar than most other ready-to-drink coffees in the UK, with between 95 and 120 calories per can and 4.3g and 9.8g of sugar per can. Each drink also contains the equivalent of a double shot of espresso.

In contrast, Starbucks’s Coffee 200ml Double Shot Espresso contains 142 calories and 17g of sugar per can.

Coca-Cola paid £3.9bn for Costa Coffee earlier this year to tap into the coffee market – primarily with the aim of launching new products.

Dominic Paul, CEO of Costa Coffee, says: “Through this collaboration we’ve been able to work together to offer consumers the great taste of Costa Coffee in a can for the first time…We’re really proud to have brought this product to market at such speed whilst still ensuring the range has proper coffee at its heart.”

The drinks company has been bolstering its portfolio through non-carbonated drinks such as coffee, flavoured waters and smoothies under CEO James Quincy as it looks to become a ‘total beverage company’.

Quincy hinted at the launch in an investor call in April. He said: “Costa is our platform in coffee. Overall this requires more and better connectivity than ever before.”