Coca-Cola will stop selling the version of its soft drink energy in the United States and Canada later this year, the company said in a statement. However, the drink will continue to be available abroad, mainly in Europe, as reported by the site Beverage Digest .
Coca-Cola Energy has more than triple the caffeine of regular Coca-Cola in addition to guarana, a popular supplement in energy drinks. Coca-Cola first introduced Coke Energy in January 2020 after presenting the drink in Europe a year earlier.
The soft drink company confirmed that the decision to put end of production occurs as it streamlines its product portfolio to focus on brands that are performing well .
Last year was an intense year for the giant of soft drinks as it ended the production of several renowned brands and eliminated about 2, 200 jobs around the world . The Atlanta-based company announced that it would stop producing the Tab and Odwalla juice as part of a larger plan to eliminate some 200 brands worldwide . In January, Coca-Cola announced that it was selling Zico coconut water, the number 2 brand behind Vita Coco.
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The company was embroiled in a legal dispute with Monster Energy over whether the launch of its own energy drink would violate an agreement reached between the two companies in 2015. At that time, Coca-Cola bought a stake in the 16. 7% Monster agreeing to distribute its energy drinks in the United States and Canada . Coca-Cola later won an arbitration lawsuit.
A year later it appears that Coca-Cola will cede the market to energy drink leaders Monster and Red Bull, as well as fast-growing startups like Celsius. It also opens the door for further growth from rival PepsiCo, which struck a distribution deal with Bang and bought the Rockstar Energy beverage brand for $ 3, 850 millions of dollars.
The suspension of Coca-Cola Energy could also make Monster a more attractive acquisition target for Coca-Cola, notes Beverage Digest.
Although the company ends the distribution of Coca-cola Energy in the United States the company has other beverages that may be promising and increase its profits.
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Coke launched in January Coca-Cola with Coffee and has been investing in its mineral water brand Topo Chico highlighting an agreement with Molson Coors Beverage, which will manufacture, market and distribute a hard seltzer version of the drink.
Coca-Cola is innovating many of its brands like Diet Coke and introducing new flavors like Coke Zero Sugar. However, Coca-Cola Energy is not going away. Although it will no longer be present in Canada and the United States the company said it will continue to be sold in select markets around the world. including Europe.
The soft drink company can reintroduce energy drink in the United States, but for now, upon exiting the pandemic it will only invest in the brands that report the highest income.
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