USA – The Coca-Cola Company and Bacardi Limited have announced their collaboration to launch a ready-to-drink (RTD) pre-mixed cocktail featuring BACARDÍ rum and Coca-Cola.
The new drink, Bacardi Mixed with Coca-Cola, is set to debut in Mexico and select European Union markets in 2025.
The companies revealed that the global benchmark for the drink’s alcohol by volume (abv) is 5%, although the exact abv will vary by market. Promotional packaging for the launch indicates an abv of 5.9%.
This partnership marks a strategic move by Coca-Cola to expand its presence in the growing alcohol RTD market.
“We are continuing to develop our portfolio as a total beverage company, including in the growing alcohol RTD market. This new relationship with Bacardi Limited supports our strategic expansion,” Coca-Cola Co. chairman and CEO James Quincey said in a statement.
Bacardi CEO Mahesh Madhavan also expressed enthusiasm for the collaboration, highlighting the increased accessibility of the classic rum and Coca-Cola cocktail to legal drinking-age consumers through this RTD format.
The Bacardi Mixed with Coca-Cola RTD will feature packaging that prominently displays the iconic Bacardi and Coca-Cola trademarks.
The cans will include responsibility symbols, ensuring the drink is marketed only to those of legal drinking age.
This new venture follows Coca-Cola’s previous collaborations with other major alcohol brands, including Brown-Forman for a Jack Daniel’s and Coca-Cola RTD and Pernod Ricard for an Absolut & Sprite cocktail.
Before the launch with Brown-Forman, Coca-Cola worked with Molson Coors to release a Topo Chico Hard Seltzer and had also experimented with alcoholic soft drinks, including a hard lemonade in Japan.
The global RTD market is expected to grow significantly, with fortune Business Insights predicting it will reach US$1,227.81 billion by 2032, exhibiting a compound annual growth rate of 6.06 percent.
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