Coca-Cola Energy debuts brand new cherry variant plus extra Coca-Cola taste for all variants

• New cherry variant combines biggest cola flavour in GB^[1] with naturally derived caffeine, B vitamins to support energy and the great taste of Coca-Cola
• Launch will be backed by a multi-million pound marketing campaign as well as an enhanced can design across the full range

Coca-Cola European Partners (CCEP) is building on the success of the launch of Coca-Cola Energy, which clocked up almost £4m worth of sales in 2019, by unveiling a new cherry-flavoured variant to broaden the appeal of the range.

Rolling out this month, Coca-Cola Energy Cherry will help retailers to capitalise on the demand for flavour innovation in the Energy sector by combining GB’s most popular cola flavour^[2] with naturally derived caffeine, B vitamins and guarana extracts, but with no taurine.

Coca-Cola Energy and Coca-Cola Energy No Sugar now also have an extra Coca-Cola taste and the cans have an enhanced look and feel that draws greater distinction between the two variants. The can design of Coca-Cola Energy Cherry reflects the full range, but comes in striking pink which delivers maximum on shelf stand out. All variants come with branded shipper trays that help deliver further stand-out in the chiller and bold new POS to highlight to shoppers that the range provides an energy kick and the unique taste of Coke.

The three-strong Coca-Cola Energy range will be supported by a multi-million-pound marketing campaign kicking off in April which includes out-of-home advertising, consumer sampling of more than a million samples and activation at some of the biggest music festivals across the summer.

Simon Harrison, Vice President, Commercial Development at Coca-Cola European Partners GB, said: “Coca-Cola Energy enjoyed a successful launch last year becoming the 4^th largest IC soft drink innovation in 2019[3]. In fact, the range helped to attract new consumers to the Energy segment, with 86% of sales incremental to the sector^[4].

“With Cherry flavoured colas worth £160m and taking the mantel as the most preferred cola flavour in GB[5], Coca-Cola Energy Cherry will help the range appeal to a broader audience of both cola and energy drinkers. This new flavour variant in combination with the extra Coca-Cola taste of the original variants and new look cans will no doubt help fuel sales for retailers this year and beyond.”