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Charlotte to Test 'Immunity' Drink: Coke Consolidated Says `Defense' Builds Resistance to Illness

Posted on: Saturday, 21 January 2006, 12:00 CST

By Gillian May-Lian Wee, The Charlotte Observer, N.C.

Jan. 21--In another departure from its traditional soft drink lines, Charlotte's Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated plans to launch on Monday a vitamin drink it claims will boost immunity.

The nation's second-largest Coke bottler is touting "Defense" as a liquid nutrition supplement for people too busy to pop vitamins. Coke Consolidated is testing the drink in Charlotte and Greensboro.

To make and sell it, the bottler is partnering with the drink's maker, Brain Twist, their second cooperation after co-launching the sugary, Cinnabon canned iced coffee early last month. Such efforts have won Coke Consolidated praise from analysts for going beyond making and selling traditional soft drinks, a declining market.

Company spokesman Lauren Steele said they aren't claiming the drink will cure colds, just that it'll help build up a person's resistance against illness. The slogan: "Your best offense is a strong Defense."

But Elisabetta Politi, nutrition manager at Duke University's Duke Diet & Fitness Center in Durham, warns there's no evidence that having more vitamins will boost a person's immune system. After reviewing the contents of the drink, she also said the drink contains too much sugar and really high levels of vitamin C.

"It's marketing. They're trying to be attractive to consumers who are not well informed," said Politi. "The vitamins and minerals you eat in fruits and vegetables are more effective."

In the next two weeks, the bottler plans to complete a series of consumer sampling events to trap its ideal audience: white-collar professionals seeking a quick pick-up. Coke Consolidated plans to review how well the product is received here over the next few months before launching it in the 11 states where it sells drinks.

"We are going far beyond the bounds of our traditional business model with Defense," Steele said.

Drink Details

-- Defense contains a plastic capsule holding vitamins and minerals such as vitamins A, C and E and zinc in powder form, which explodes and fizzes in the can once it's open.

-- The drink, available in orange or lemon lime, will be sold at grocery stores as well as in the coolers and flu aisles at pharmacies such as CVS.

-- It will cost $2.49 to $2.79.

Gillian May-Lian Wee: (704) 358-5160

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Charlotte Observer, N.C.

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NASDAQ-NMS:COKE,

Source: The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.)

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