JAPAN TIMES


 

Coca-Cola (Japan) Co. is preparing for its official entry into the nation’s alcoholic beverage market, company sources said Monday.

In May last year, the company launched a canned chūhai spirit-based product in the Kyushu region on a trial basis.

Coca-Cola (Japan) plans to sell the product, “Remondo,” nationwide from this autumn, mainly at supermarkets and convenience stores, the sources said.

The company aims to make canned chūhai a key revenue source at a time when the market for carbonated drinks — its main products — faces slow growth.

Sales of chūhai products in Japan have doubled in around 10 years as they are cheaper than beer and offer a variety of flavors.

“We are planning to (fully) enter the alcoholic drink market to sustain our growth although competition is fierce,” an official at the company’s public relations department said.