Win for people power as Coca-Cola relaunches Cascade Blackcurrant Ultra-C

BEVERAGE giant Coca-Cola Amatil has announced a win for people power — or at least, the people of Tasmania — today relaunching the popular Cascade Blackcurrant Ultra-C cordial.

Coke brings back flavour after Facebook push

BEVERAGE giant Coca-Cola Amatil has announced a win for people power — or at least, the people of Tasmania — today relaunching the popular Cascade Blackcurrant Ultra-C cordial to closer match its ‘original’ taste after a consumer backlash.

Coca-Cola Amatil acquired Cascade in 2012 and subsequently moved production of the much-loved local drink to Victoria, in the process making some changes to the formulation “which we considered fairly minor”.

“We totally underestimated the passion for Cascade Ultra-C and how discerning Tasmanians were,” Coca-Cola Amatil managing director Alison Watkins said.

“We got feedback in no uncertain terms via a Facebook page that a number of our fans set up. It was very clear that while this was a small product to us, it was something consumers cared about very deeply.”

Coca-Cola Amatil spent the better part of two years working with Tasmanians to return the drink to its original taste. Ms Watkins, herself a Tasmanian, travelled to meet a number of consumers at blackcurrant grower Westerway farm to unveil the revised drink.

“Hearing the feedback first hand, then being able to test the new formulation with them and seeing their reactions, it was a great experience,” she said.

Westerway’s director of plant and food science Hazel MacTavish-West.

COKE LIFE TARGETS ‘LAPSED’ DRINKERS

Coca-Cola Amatil’s Australian beverage volumes rose by 2.8 per cent in the six months to July 3, driven largely by bottled and coconut water.

And while the carbonated soft-drink category is still in decline, the company managed to steal market share, increasing sales volumes by 1 per cent through lower prices, increased marketing and new packaging sizes.

The launch of the stevia-sweetened Coke Life, described by many as a failure, helped drive that result.

In May, Credit Suisse analysts said the low-calorie alternative had fallen short of sales expectations, selling seven million litres in the first five weeks compared with 14 million for Coke Vanilla in over the same time period in 2005.

Ms Watkins defended Coke Life, which she said was actually performing better in Australia than comparable markets.

“We’re very happy with how Coke Life is performing. It’s very early days for the product, but based on other markets we expect it will be about 1-2 per cent of brand Coke,” she said.

“In the early stages it’s been exceeding that but we expect it will settle down. For us, brand Coke is a family, it offers choice, and Coke Life is a really important addition to that choice as natural sweeteners [grow in popularity].”

But if Diet Coke is geared towards women and Coke Zero towards men, who does a third low-calorie alternative appeal to?

Ms Watkins said the Coke Life drinker is “typically someone who may have lapsed from the category”.

“They might be a little bit older, late 20s or early 30s, which is when we see people tending to drink less carbonated soft drinks,” she said.

“It’s people who love the taste of regular Coke, but they may be a little bit concerned about their energy intake and striking the right balance as they get a little bit older. That’s the kind of drinker we’re seeing mostly pick up the product.”

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Ms Watkins says Australian Coke Life sales are tracking above other markets.