BAR NØNE | Coca Cola launches non-alcoholic premium drinks
Coca-Cola’s Venturing & Emerging Brands (VEB) unit is raising the bar for alcohol alternatives with the launch of a new line of booze-free adult sparkling drinks. BAR NØNE made its debut in October at Taste of Atlanta, where nearly 3,000 festivalgoers sipped on the four varieties, Spiced Ginger Mule, Bellini Spritz, Dry Aged Cider and Sangria. The drinks were crafted with bar-inspired flavours and premium, on-trend ingredients to appeal to beer, wine and cocktail drinkers. BAR NØNE is currently available in select package stores, bottle shops, restaurants and specialty markets in Coke’s hometown of Atlanta, and online. The bottled drinks – which contain between 70 and 130 calories – are sweetened with unique juice blends or cane sugar.
BAR NØNE I How it all started..
The idea for BAR NØNE hatched during an at-work conversation about flavourful substitutes for spirits – or, more specifically, the lack thereof. Sabrina Tandon, BAR NØNE general manager and a few colleagues were chatting about craving something more exciting than club soda for occasions when they didn’t want to partake. “We talked about not wanting to drink as often, or as much, as we had before,” she recalled. “We wanted something we could actually look forward to enjoying as much as an alcoholic drink – something sip-able and savor-able.” And they’re not alone. According to external data sources, non-alcoholic option trends are generation agnostic; Millennials are drinking less than Generation X, and Generation Z are imbibing less than Millennials.
“People are choosing not to drink for many different reasons,” said Tandon. “We’re not targeting a certain demographic… we’re targeting a mindset.” BAR NØNE went from idea to shelf in only 10 months. At Coca-Cola agile teams like Tandon’s are empowered to take risks, iterate and move quickly.
Of samplers surveyed on site at the ’Taste of Atlanta’ festival, 93% said they would buy the beverages, and 78% said they’d drink BAR NØNE straight up or over ice, without adding alcohol or other ingredients.
Website: BAR NØNE