Coca-Cola Launches Ginger Variant Down Under

01 Nov 2016 --- Die-hard fans of Coca-Cola might want to tread cautiously or should that be gingerly. For the US soft drinks giant has launched a ginger variant of its 130-year old iconic fizzy drink in Australia.

The new fizzy beverage is described as having a “Great Coke taste with a refreshing ginger twist”.

The launch of Coca-Cola Ginger chimes with the arrival of summer in Australia and comes amid the growing popularity of ginger-flavored drinks Down Under.

It also comes as Coca-Cola looks to bolster sales of its fizzy drinks as health-conscious consumers shun sugary drinks.

According to Coca-Cola Amatil, Coke's bottler in Australia, volumes of sparkling beverages were down year-on-year 5.8 percent to 102 million in the six months to July 2016.

Coca-Cola estimates that the market for ginger flavored fizzy drinks is currently worth around $80m in Australia and is growing quickly.

Bundaberg Ginger Beer, for example, has been a hit since it launched over 50 years ago.

Research also indicates a high level of crossover between shoppers of cola and shoppers of ginger-flavored drinks, with nearly 70 percent of ginger beer shoppers also buying a cola product. 

Marina Rocha, Coca-Cola South Pacific Group Marketing Manager, said: “We are excited to unveil Coca-Cola Ginger first here in Australia. This summer our focus is on helping Aussies make those special moments even more enjoyable and the launch of Coca-Cola Ginger is the first step towards this goal.”

“We are confident the new flavour will be perfect for our audience, with research revealing that ginger is particularly popular during the Summer months.” 

“Introducing Coca-Cola Ginger to market is the ideal way to spearhead our exciting and unexpected Summer campaign that we’re confident will capture the imagination of Australia.”

Coca-Cola Ginger, which has been launched as a limited-edition product, will feature a distinct golden bottlecap and labeling, so as to distinguish it from sister-brands, including Coca-Cola and Diet Coke.

Coca-Cola Ginger, which is aimed at occasional and lapsed Coca-Cola drinkers, will be central to Coke's summer campaign, which is encouraging young adults to reappraise  their opinions of the brands through a multi-media campaign.