Made for ‘slashers’: Coca-Cola Hong Kong targets younger, multitasking consumers with new energy drink
According to the company, ‘slashers’ are young consumers that are not satisfied with performing just a single job function, have a thirst for freedom, and are willing to stray beyond the confines of a stable income.
“Slashers commonly have many jobs and constantly multitask, which means that they have multiple ‘slashes (/)’ in their job title,” said Coca-Cola Hong Kong via an official statement on their website.
For example, such an individual could be a nurse by day, professional bartender by night, and yoga instructor over the weekend, and their official job title would be: Nurse/bartender/yoga instructor.
With Coca-Cola Energy, the beverage giant looks to tap into the rising demand for energy drinks from this segment, given that such a lifestyle would be understandably tiring and draining.
“[Energy] is one of the fastest-growing categories in our industry,” said Coca-Cola Global Chief Marketing Officer of Sparkling Beverages Javier Meza.
“Coca-Cola Energy is an energy drink with 80 mg of caffeine per 250 ml, [as compared to] classic Coca-Cola [which has] 24mg.”
In addition to caffeine, the beverage also contains guanara extract (which also contains naturally-occurring caffeine) and added vitamins B3 and B6, but not the controversial ingredient taurine which is suspected to have potential neuromuscular side effects.
“Coca-Cola Energy comes in both original and sugar-free variants. With a sweet-sourish flavour and mild fruity aroma, it is a delicious, refreshing option for Hong Kong consumers who need to deal with a stressful lifestyle,” added Coca-Cola Hong Kong.
“Coca-Cola Energy [first launched] in Spain and Hungary [earlier this year], and we plan to introduce it in additional countries through 2019 and 2020,” said Meza.
Subject of controversy
Coca-Cola Energy was the subject of a brawl between Coca-Cola and partner company Monster Beverage last year, when Coke’s plans to develop this beverage were protested by Monster as being in violation of their partnership agreement.
“There is an issue in an agreement, which we've agreed to go to arbitration civilly and determine what course of action is appropriate,” said Monster Vice Chairman and President Hilton Schlosberg, according to BeverageDaily.
“So, nothing has changed in the relationship and the manner in which this situation will be dealt with will be conducted from both parties on a civil basis according to the agreement.”
Coca-Cola argued that there were exceptions in the agreement that allowed for this, and the courts agreed, as the company was granted approval to continue selling the drink earlier this year in July.
