Coca-Cola is stepping into a new market: alcohol.
According to Fortune, the company took a dive into the Japanese spirits industry last month under our noses. The drink is considered an alcopop, referred to as Chu-Hi or Chūhai. In other words, it's a low-alcoholic spirit with flavoring—a sugar-water specialty only a company like Coke could make money from.
The Irish Times mentions that Chu-Hi canned drinks typically have three to eight percent alcohol content, putting them in direct competition with beer. Supposedly, this makes the drink more "attractive" to women drinkers because women prefer drinks with lower alcohol content compared to male counterparts. Either way, we know that men were in charge.
This isn't Coke's first time producing an alcoholic product in its 125-year history. During the late 1970s, the company briefly experimented with selling wine made from vineyards in California and New York. The wine was even made available on United Airlines flights.
Back in January, the beverage company launched four new flavors of Diet Coke in the United States: Ginger Lime, Feisty Cherry, Zesty Blood Orange, and Twisted Mango. The new line apparently plans to convert the health-conscious millennial (let's be real: the La Croix population). After all, the diet version can help you live longer, says one 104-year-old woman.
As the carbonated candy liquid continues to stay relevant, we will be watching for a re-launch campaign closer to its chemical origins. A bunch of cocaine was found at a French Coke factory in 2016.
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