Coca-Cola just announced its latest foray into alcoholic beverages: Simply Spiked Lemonade, the third in the company’s expanding line-up of ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktails.
Simply Spiked will be created as a partnership between Molson Coors and Coke, as an alcoholic version of Simply fruit juice. The starting flavors will include strawberry lemonade, watermelon lemonade, blueberry lemonade, and original lemonade. The alcohol used in the hard seltzers will be derived from fermented sugar cane.
In an interview with CNN, Molson’s chief marketing officer Michelle St. Jacques said that Simply is Coke’s second-biggest brand in the U.S., with over $1 billion in revenue annually. Coke also stated that Simply had a “solid performance” last year, despite its entire juice, dairy, and plant-based beverages portfolio declining 9 percent in 2021.
Just in this past month, Coke has revealed several different new entrants into beverage alcohol. On Jan. 4, Molson Coors released an expansion to their line-up of Topo Chico hard seltzers with Ranch Water-inspired seltzers, with a Margarita flavor pack to come later this year. Soon after on Jan. 6, Coke announced it was partnering with Constellation brands to produce Fresca Mixed, a series of RTD alcoholic cocktails using Fresca as a mixer.
Coke is not the only soft-drinks producer adding alcoholic beverages to their portfolio. In late 2021, PepsiCo. announced its partnership with Boston Beer Co., to produce Hard MTN Dew. And in January 2022 Monster Energy purchased CANarchy, a craft brewing collective.
The Simply Spiked Lemonade will be sold in variety packs of 12 slim cans, as well as 24-ounce standalone cans. The beverage is 5 percent ABV. Prices have not yet been disclosed, but the drinks are set to go on sale this summer.
