Coca-Cola Expands Venturing & Emerging Brands Portfolio

10/6/2017
A bottle of Topo Chico mineral water

ATLANTA — Coca-Cola North America has added Topo Chico premium sparkling mineral water to its venturing & emerging brands (VEB) unit.

Topo Chico will continue to be imported from Cerro del Topo Chico in northern México, where it has been bottled exclusively since 1895.

According to The Coca-Cola Co., the Atlanta-based company has a long history with the brand: The first bottle of Coca-Cola in Mexico was bottled at a Topo Chico facility in the 1920s. Arca Continental, Coke's second-largest bottling partner in Latin America, has bottled and distributed Topo Chico for the last 30 years.

"As we accelerate our evolution to a total beverage company, we're investing in brands that are on trend. Topo Chico is a fast-growing brand with a lot of passion behind it and growth runway ahead," said Matt Hughes, vice president of emerging brands, incubation.

"The premium, imported sparkling water category is growing double-digits, and Topo Chico has proven itself in a significant market – Texas – where it's leading the category," he added.

Topo Chico is currently sold in Northern Mexico and in 35 states across the United States, with approximately 70 percent of its U.S. sales coming from Texas.

According to Kellam Mattie, vice president of marketing and innovation, Topo Chico has a loyal base of Hispanic consumers who grew up with the brand in the U.S. and Mexico. In addition, the product has gained a millennial following.

Mattie added that Coca-Cola will expand the brand's geographic presence. "We're currently designing our supply chain, distribution and marketing capabilities to meet, what we know will be, an exciting and increasing demand for the brand," she added.

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