Coca-Cola Hong Kong launched a new type of cola recently (Not sure about the exact date, but very likely just last week).
Scientifically gimmicky
What's special about the new cola is its cooling to ice in front of the customer. It is originally liquid, but when it is shaken or as it comes out of the vending machine, it quickly condense into solid. As a science student who majored Chemistry in the undergraduate years, I instantly recognised it as a phenomenon of supercooling when I came across with it for the first time. (I am not going into details here. If you are interested in how it works, please visit science forums for detailed scientific explanations.)
A real differentiating product
I think this supercooled coke (I am not sure about its official name yet, but let's call it this way as it must be correct from a science sense) is a very cool idea indeed. It is not only gimmicky but totally new to the category. In fact not just the soft drink category, but new to all beverages. Nobody has ever done this before (Supercooled sprite was launched in UK before, but it was Coca-Cola company too). It is a very rare product that really differentiates miles apart from other competitors.
Why line extend but not start it brand new?
However, it makes me wonder, with such a product differentiation in hand, why didn't Coca-Cola just launch a new brandwith a different name instead of building of its flagship product. The product could have been better off as a totally new line because that will open up a new category and that will be what marketers craves about -- The Blue Ocean strategy. It will help the classic coke by occupying the "cooling and thirst-killing" proposition so that the classic coke can focus on "happiness" without having to change from time to time to remind consumers of its functional benefit. But now it is just another variation of the classic coke. It can never become the real thing and its potential to open new category is buried and grounded. I think this marketing move represents a huge opportunity wasted.
By the way, if you are interested to learn more about supercooling, the following resources will help.
http://hypography.com/forums/watercooler/12522-beer-freezing-trick.html
It's not a new type of Coke, it's a new type of vending machine. If you put a normal (sealed) Coke bottle in your house freezer the same thing can happen. The supercooling vending machines recently appeared in Singapore too.
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