Soft drinks giant Coca-Cola is a step closer to launching its first booze brand, it has been revealed.
The fizzy pop-maker has trademarked and registered the name EH Canning Co with the Intellectual Property Office under an alcohol category.
After 126 years of making family favourites, Coca-Cola is breaking with tradition to create its first ever boozy drink.
According to trade journal The Grocer, the iconic label is likely to produce hard seltzer - a trendy, sparkling fruit flavoured alcoholic water which is flying off the shelves in America.
More 20 to 35-year-olds are turning to the fizzy, drink for grown ups as a lower calorie alternative to beer and brands like Kopparberg Passion Fruit and Mixed Berries hard seltzers are already on UK supermarket shelves including Tesco and Morrisons.
Aldi has just launched its own range of Nordic Wolf hard seltzers in flavours including strawberry and lime and raspberry and blackcurrant.
Aldi’s managing director of buying Julie Ashfield,said: “It’s the drink on everyone’s lips at the moment and we couldn’t be more thrilled to introduce our very own hard seltzer range to UK drinkers.
“With the rise of more health-conscious consumers, we wanted to make sure we are catering for this market and Nordic Wolf does just that without compromising on price.
"Offering a naturally flavoured, lower calorie alternative, we expect this brand-new launch to be a hit, especially as the summer heats up and BBQ season kicks in.”
Now Coke is planning to cash in on the growing market and experts say with no outright leader emerging, the brand has a chance to make it big.
Hamish Renton of food marketing agency HRA Global said: “There’s no real standout.”
And retail expert Keith Webb told The Grocer he expected EH Canning to be a “new spirit brand with worldwide potential” but added it would not feature Coke branding, which was “totally linked with fizzy drinks”.
The drinks firm declined to comment but the patent covers mineral water, fruit drinks and alcohol and in one section excludes beer.
