Coca-Cola adds energy to its portfolio with Coke Energy Launch: Our Take

3-minute read

Coke Energy – with and without sugar – hit UK shelves late April ’19 as part of Coca-Cola’s longer-term strategy to “diversify our [their] legacy brands.“ The new drink boasts amped-up caffeine content, B vitamins, and guarana extracts. Coke Energy takes up arms against market leaders such as Lucozade, Red Bull, and Monster. Seems like there’s a tonne of potential here, but have they got it right?

Our Client Service Director Caroline Dilloway talks through her thoughts on its branding and placement.

With the sales of core Coca-cola in decline amidst an ever-changing and problematic landscape of sugar taxes, increased health awareness and new entrants to the market, the Coca-cola business must, of course, diversify to survive.

Any diversification should ensure that the heart of the master brand is retained and represented throughout the portfolio.

Whilst an energy drink feels like a good fit for Coke, it feels like an opportunity has been missed to truly disrupt the category through market-leading innovation. For example, using the same pack format as Red Bull, which automatically puts Coke Energy into a ‘me too’ state, when its credentials should see it standing up as category leader, despite its infancy.

The nomenclature is also an area that could have benefitted from some disruptive innovation.

There’s certainly no mistaking what the product positioning is but being so obvious cheapens the proposition and makes it less appealing to the ‘try anything once’ generation who are open to engaging with new experiences.

The thing that will see this brand succeed (beyond the support and experience of a global beverages giant) is honesty.

This product is loud and proud of what it is and what role it will play in a consumers’ life. If a consumer wants an energy drink then they want an energy drink regardless of the ‘bad press’. This authentic approach is appreciated by consumers and is in contrast to the, rather patronising, McDonald's approach of offering carrots instead of chips – by no stretch do carrots fulfil the consumers’ need for crispy, fried, salty naughtiness!

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