“This relationship brings together two classic American icons to deliver consumers a taste experience they love in a way that is consistent, convenient, and portable,” Lawson Whiting, CEO and President of Brown-Forman Corporation, stated in a press release. Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey added: “We keep consumers at the center of everything we do as we continue to develop our portfolio as a total beverage company, and that includes new products with our iconic Coca-Cola brand.”
The product is the highest-profile representation yet of the burgeoning trend of soda giants teaming with beer companies on alcoholic versions of mainstream drinks. PepsiCo and Sam Adams-maker Boston Beer Co. recently began selling Hard Mtn Dew in several states. Coca-Cola also has deals in place with Molson Coors for Topo Chico Hard Seltzer, which hit stores in 2020, and Simply Spiked Lemonade, an extension of Coke’s Simply juice brand.
The products come as brewers seek to curry favor with drinkers who have a new thirst for variety beyond traditional beers.
Canned Jack & Coke has been a long-time coming. As noted today by trade publication Beverage Digest, “for decades Coca-Cola has resisted lending its brand directly to a ‘Jack and Coke’ ready-to-drink product, despite the lore surrounding the Jack and Coke cocktail in popular culture. Even as brand managers and company leaders encouraged the combination in bars and restaurants, they worried an official relationship might pose a reputational or even legal risk for the brand.”
But “times have changed as makers of non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages each look across sector lines for growth and efficiencies of scale,” the publication added.
