James Quincey, the chairman and CEO of Coca-Cola, may have revealed the next trend in soft drinks.
During an appearance on CNBC, Quincey was discussing newer consumer preferences for protein-rich beverages before he hinted at the possible development of fiber-enriched drinks in the coming years.
“You’ve got a lot of focus on refreshment, and a lot of focus on protein. And people are definitely seeing more protein,” Quincey said of certain beverages in Coca-Cola’s portfolio, pointing to the company’s Fairlife milk and Core Power Protein Shakes. “We might see fiber creep in this year.”
When pressed on his fiber comment, Quincey seemed to suggest it would be easy to incorporate into a beverage.
“You can put it in everything. Fiber is soluble in a beverage,” he said. “For example, we sell Diet Coke with fiber in Japan.”
“You can basically put it in a drink and more or less mask it completely,” he added.
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The Japanese soda that Quincey mentioned, known as Coca-Cola Plus, launched in 2017 in Japan, according to an archived press release from the Coca-Cola Company. At the time, Coca-Cola said the drink — which contains five grams of dietary fiber per bottle — was approved by the Japanese Ministry of Health to be approved as a Food for Specified Health Uses (FOSHU).
As for whether a drink like that could be a hit elsewhere, Quincey wasn’t as confident, despite his earlier prediction that fiber-enriched drinks could “creep” into the marketplace.
“No, it’s niche,” he told CNBC. “Because people don’t buy drinks to have their fiber.”
As for things he expects consumers to actually see, Quincey revealed that the company is likely to stick with its plans to use artificial intelligence to create at least some of its marketing materials, both print and video.
“Yes, it’s a little polemic. Do people love it? Do people notice every now and again?” he said. “But so far we’ve made the last two Christmas ads with AI in a quarter of the time and a fraction of the cost, and they’ve been the highest scoring, most effective ads. So I think the future is going to be there.”
Quincey will be stepping down as CEO of the Coca-Cola Company in late March. Henrique Braun, the current chief operating officer, will be taking his place.
