For many, it’s a flavor of college parties or perhaps a favorite beach cocktail. Now global brands Coca-Cola and Bacardi are teaming up to make rum and Coke in a can.
The Atlanta-based beverage giant is plowing deeper into the market for canned cocktails, announcing Bacardi Mixed with Coca-Cola, which will launch next year in Mexico and parts of Europe. Coca-Cola spokesman Scott Leith said Tuesday the partners are considering a U.S. launch next year, too.
Coke has tried to add a bit of fizz to its soda sales by signing partnerships with spirits makers to produce canned versions of classic cocktails that use some of its most popular soft drinks. Perhaps the best known of these has been Jack & Coke, with Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey.
There’s also a canned Absolut Vodka and Sprite beverage, including a Zero Sugar option.
Coke sells an alcoholic drink known as Lemon-Dou in Japan, but the company has yet to enter the U.S. alcohol market on its own. The U.S. booze sector is highly regulated, and rules vary by states.
Credit: Courtesy of Brown-Forman Corporation/The Coca-Cola Company
Credit: Courtesy of Brown-Forman Corporation/The Coca-Cola Company
Instead, Coke has ventured into partnerships to make spiked versions featuring some of its carbonated beverages. Other Coca-Cola products-turned-cocktails include Topo Chico Hard Seltzer, which is made by Molson Coors, as well as Fresca ready-to-drink cocktails launched in partnership with Constellation Brands.
“We are continuing to develop our portfolio as a total beverage company, including in the growing alcohol ready-to-drink market,” James Quincey, Coca-Cola Chairman and CEO, said in a news release.
The canned rum and Coke will have a global benchmark for alcohol beverage volume of 5%, though the companies said that would vary by market. It also will include labeling urging of-age consumers to drink responsibly.
“We are excited to bring together two iconic brands so that consumers may enjoy one of the most world’s most popular cocktails — first invented generations ago with Bacardi rum and Coca-Cola — in a high-quality, convenient format,” Mahesh Madhavan, CEO of Bacardi Limited, said in the release.
Bacardi, a family-owned company, was founded in Cuba in 1862 before moving to Bermuda in 1965. Coca-Cola was created in Atlanta in 1886.
The companies noted that another popular cocktail, the Cuba Libre, was invented using Bacardi rum, Coke and lime in Havana’s American Bar in 1900. The companies did not say whether that classic drink could be next in a can.
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