COCA-COLA

COCA-COLA BOTTLING × BRAVO FOODS

TURNING TRUSTED FLAVORS INTO A NEW Dairy CATEGORY

Coca-Cola Bottling suddenly had a major problem. School lunch programs were removing traditional soft drinks because of their sugar content—leaving Coca-Cola bottlers with an immediate hole in their school distribution business. Developing entirely new Coca-Cola products would take months. They needed an approved replacement—and they needed it fast.

THE OPPORTUNITY WAS MILK.

Flavored milk could remain in school lunch programs. Working with Bravo Foods and dairy-industry partners, we saw an opportunity to give Coca-Cola bottlers an entirely new product platform. But speed wasn't the only challenge. We needed flavors kids would actually want. Rather than inventing new flavor concepts and waiting to discover whether children would embrace them, we started with something much more powerful: Brands and flavors they already loved.

WE BORROWED TRUST TO BUILD A CATEGORY.

I helped create a 12-SKU flavored milk platform built around licensed confectionery brands from Dove and Mars—including Dove, Milky Way, 3 Musketeers and Starburst. The strategy gave the new products something most launches spend years trying to build: Instant recognition. Instant familiarity. Instant appetite appeal. We combined those licensed properties with naming, packaging and go-to-market creative designed to translate familiar candy experiences into a school-appropriate dairy platform. From concept through retail launch, we turned an urgent distribution problem into a new business opportunity.

FROM EMPTY TRUCKS TO AN entirely NEW PRODUCT PLATFORM

Coca-Cola bottlers now had approved products to put back into their school distribution system. Dairy partners gained access to a powerful new route to market. Kids got flavors they already knew and wanted. And Coca-Cola gained something bigger than a replacement for soft drinks: An entirely new dairy product category built around proven consumer demand.

THE RESULT - 12 NEW SKUs - MAJOR LICENSED FLAVOR BRANDS - NEW DAIRY PRODUCT PLATFORM

What began as an urgent response to a sudden change in the school beverage market became a major new revenue opportunity. We didn't wait months to create demand for something unfamiliar. We took flavors kids already loved and gave Coca-Cola Bottling an entirely new category to sell. When the market changes overnight, speed can become the strategy.

Developed with Bravo Foods and Coca-Cola Bottling — naming, packaging and go-to-market creative, from concept through retail launch.