Coca-Cola breaks 132-year-old tradition, launches first alcoholic drink in Japan

Beverages major Coca-Cola on Monday launched its first ever alcoholic drink in Japan. With a fizzy, lemon-flavoured drink, the US-based company broke its 132-year-old tradition to enter the alcoholic beverages market. The drink - offered with 3%, 5% and 7% alcohol is a variant of popular Japanese "chuhai", popular among young women.

All the three variants of the drink will be available in the southern Kyushu region of Japan from Monday. A 350-millilitre can will cost 150 yen (US$1.40 or Rs 93).

The company has not yet revealed its plans for the rest of Japan or other countries.

Chuhai is a popular drink in Japan and Coca-Cola plans to cash in its popularity. Chuhai — a word that combines “highball” and “shochu,” is an alcohol made from rice, barley or sweet potatoes. Surveys show Japanese women prefer these to beer.

Many companies in Japan have recently been experimenting and relaunching chuhai to get more woman customers. 

Coca-Cola has a huge presence in Japan in nonalcoholic drinks segment and with chuhai drink, it plans to drive its sale further. 

"This is a pilot project in the region which has a sizable market," Masaki Iida, spokesman for Coca-Cola's Japanese unit, was quoted as saying by AFP.

It has named the drink Lemon-Do which will be available with 3%, 5% and 7% alcohol, including a salty-lemon version and another that is flavoured with honey and lemon. The drink doesn’t include any Coke, clarified the company. 

It faces competition from companies like Kirin, Asahi, Aurosa and Suntory. 

“We’ve started to experiment because, in the end, we are trying to follow the consumer. And, in the case of Japan, this is a relatively well-developed segment of low alcohol,” James Quincey, the president of Coca-Cola, said at a shareholder meeting on April 26.

Although Coca-Cola once owned a winery, it has never directly sold an alcoholic drink in its history which dates back to 1886.