TOKYO - Coca-Cola is set to launch drinks made from kale, Advertising Age reports.
The beverage leader's largest bottler in Japan, Coca-Cola West, has acquired a major health-food producer, Q'Sai Co., whose main product is a green juice called "aojiru," which is made of kale.
While Japan has long served as a product innovator for Coca-Cola in health drinks, don't expect to see kale-flavored Coke on sale any time soon in the U.S. (by the way, read a summary of the Cheers Veggie-Boyd episode reference here [http://www.tv.com/cheers/veggie-boyd/episode/14277/summary.html]), with its bitter taste hardly an acceptable tradeoff for its health benefits.
However, the acquisition represents a global strategy for Coke, one that is constantly looking to leverage geographic tastes.
"[We are] constantly evaluating and exploring opportunities to expand and further diversify our beverage portfolio," said Ricardo Fort, Coke's vice president of marketing in India.
Coke has developed a range of beverages that cater to the palates and diets of Japanese consumers, such as VegitaBeta (contains a beta-carotene supplement), Cal King (yogurt drink), and Daizu no Susume Jai Law (grapefruit-flavored soy drink).