Coca-Cola looks to expand new, small brands and booze mixers

COCA-COLA, LOOKING to adapt to people’s changing tastes, wants to expand new and smaller brands, including drinks that can be mixed with alcohol.

The company said on Wednesday that more people want to sip on beverages made in small batches, instead of mass-produced sodas. Knowing that, Coca-Cola recently bought Mexican sparkling water brand Topo Chico, which it said has a strong following in Texas. It said it will look to develop other smaller brands, such as its Blue Sky soda, which is made with cane sugar instead of highfructose corn syrup.

Alcohol mixers are also becoming more popular around the world, said CEO James Quincey, and the company launched a mixer in Spain called Royal Bliss this year as well as a new line in the United Kingdom.

“More consumers seek unique and distinct products with sophisticated flavours, quality ingredients and smallerscale production,” said Quincey.

The Atlanta-based company said the United States launch of Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, a reformulated replacement for Coca-Cola Zero, was successful. Overall sales volume of its bubbly soft drinks during the most recent quarter was flat in North America, the company’s biggest market. Sales volume of Sprite, bottled tea and bottled coffee grew, while its various waters fell.

Coca-Cola reported better-thanexpected earnings and revenue for the third quarter.

It posted net income of US$1.45 billion, or 33 cents per share, in the three months ending September 29. That’s up from the US$1.05 billion, or 24 cents per share, in reported in the same quarter a year ago.

Adjusted earnings came to 50 cents per share, a penny above what analysts were expecting, according to Zacks Investment Research.

Revenue fell 15 per cent to US$9.08 billion in the period, beating the US$8.84 billion analysts expected. The company said much of the revenue drop has to do with its plans to sell off its bottling business, which means less revenue for the company as it focuses on selling syrups and concentrates of its drinks to bottlers.

Shares of Coca-Cola Company, which are up 11 per cent so far this year, slipped 8 cents to US$46.10 on Wednesday.