After serving soft drinks and water, here is Coke milk

Coca-Cola is set to launch a high-end milk product next year as it diversifies its range of carbonated drinks.

The product, which will be known as Fairlife, is a result of a joint venture between the global beverages giant and Select Milk Producers, a dairy co-operative that was formed in 2012, according to reports by Bloomberg last week.

The company says Fairlife contains more protein and calcium with less sugar but will be priced more than the standard milk.

“We will charge twice as much for it as the milk we are used to buying in a jug. We are going to be investing in the milk business for a while to build the brand so it will not rain money in the early couple of years,” Coca-Cola president for North America is reported to have told a Morgan Stanley’s global consumer conference last month.

The announcement comes at a time when milk consumption in North America, where the product is set to be launched, has been falling in the recent years, according to statistics by research company Euromonitor International.

HAS BEEN ON THE RISE

Locally, however, the value of dairy produce has been on the rise. Data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics indicates that the value of milk products increased to Sh16.8 billion last year from Sh15.4 billion during the previous year.

In Kenya, Coca-Cola markets soda, water and juices. The company’s near monopoly in the local market has recently come under attack by rival PepsiCo which opened a Sh2.4 billion bottling plant in Ruaraka, Nairobi in February.

In April, Coca-Cola announced plans to reduce the price of its 300ml soda less than a year after it undertook a similar move in order to counter the anticipated competition from PepsiCo.