Far Coast Launches a New Brand as well as a New Business Model for Coca-Cola

07/09/06 The Coca-Cola Company unveiled its Far Coast brand of premium brewed beverages today to an awaiting Toronto marketplace. Through Far Coast, the Company has created a revolutionary new system to empower its retail customers - premium restaurants, entertainment venues and other high-end outlets - to offer a variety of freshly brewed espressos, chai teas, cappuccinos and lattes with a high degree of operational ease.

Far Coast offers a wide range of coffees, teas and other exotic brews and infusions that are inspired by different cultural "adventures" in music, art, and legends from around the world. According to Udaiyan Jatar, who leads Coca-Cola's Global Premium Brewed Beverage business, "Consumers are looking for quality and variety and are increasingly curious about the world around them. Far Coast was created to provide them with a window into different cultures through our range of delicious brews and infusions."

"We are excited that Canada has been chosen as the first market for this exciting entry into a new market. These brands are an example of The Coca-Cola Company's emphasis on innovation as a means to provide our customers with solutions that help them to tap into unmet opportunities," said Vince Timpano, Division President for Coca-Cola Ltd. "Our goal is to provide our customers with a total range of non-alcoholic beverages."

Far Coast "Concept Store" on Bloor Street

"Toronto is an ideal location for the launch because it is a multicultural city that fits the cultural exploration brand positioning of Far Coast and is in a country that has a highly developed brewed beverage market," stated Silvio Annosantini, who leads this project in Canada.

To help build awareness and trial of the Far Coast brand, the company has created a Far Coast "Concept Store" in Toronto. The "Concept Store" will provide a venue for consumers to taste and explore the wide range of premium Far Coast blends and experience the magic of the brand. The location will allow the Company to gather consumer feedback quickly on new products in order to provide proven products to its restaurant customers. The location is also a great venue for the Company's retail customers to observe the brand potential, gain consumer learning and train crew.

"The "Concept Store" is a powerful and innovative marketing device to build an authentic relationship between the Far Coast brand and consumers, and ultimately, help drive consumers to our retail customers," said Jatar.

Following the opening of the Far Coast "Concept Store" on Bloor Street, The Coca-Cola Company will rollout Far Coast only through its retail customers in the Greater Toronto Area. Toronto will be closely followed by Oslo and Singapore, both of which will open their own "Concept Store."

The Toronto Far Coast "Concept Store" will open to the public on September 22, 2006. "To announce the opening, true to the brand's positioning, a celebration of the world's cultures will take place at the Bloor Street location," said Scott Stuckmann, Global Marketing Director for Premium Brewed Beverages. "There will be performances throughout the day and the opportunity to taste the entire variety of Far Coast brewed beverages."

The Technology

The Coca-Cola Company has developed a proprietary pod-based brewing technology. This technology provides customers with an operationally easy system to offer barista quality brewed beverages while ensuring each beverage is consistently of superior quality and freshly made for each individual consumer. This innovation is designed to help the Company's customers overcome operational difficulties such as complex, unreliable machines and high labor turnover. Through this technology, retail customers can quickly and conveniently tap into the fast growing specialty coffee and tea market while receiving marketing and technical support from The Coca-Cola Company.

CHAQWA

In addition to Far Coast, The Coca-Cola Company introduced CHAQWA, a complementary brand oriented towards convenience. The CHAQWA name comes from a combination of "cha," the Mandarin name for tea, and "qawah," the name for coffee in many Arabic languages. This brand brings with it the quality and consistency of the best coffeehouses, and allows customers like convenience stores and quick service restaurants to serve authentic cappuccinos and chai teas to their patrons who already visit their stores and are looking to upgrade from the coffee currently available. CHAQWA is designed for people "on the go" who don't have time to wait in a queue at a typical coffeehouse but who, if given the chance, would upgrade to a coffeehouse beverage if it were available conveniently in a quick service restaurant. In contrast, Far Coast is designed to be more experiential and "relaxed" and will be made available in upscale hotels and fine dining establishments where consumers have the time for a more immersive experience.