Coke’s ‘Vision 2020’ Event Paints Picture of Hotbed of Cross-Border Innovation    Call it intense, day-and-a-half-long selling job: investor meeting hosted by Coca-Cola at its World of Coca-Cola showcase in Atlanta brought out top brass from all over world to herald co’s new bias toward action on building core CSDs while nurturing scalable innovations, all under rubric of its Vision 2020 plan.  It also comprised defense of current franchise bottler structure at time PepsiCo seems to have drawn excitement from some investors with plan to acquire biggest 2 bottlers.  Event, which included extensive displays of new bevs and hardware, brought no revelations, particularly on North American front, but KO left BBI visitor with overall impression that co has become hotbed of cross-border experimentation in cutting-edge bev segments.  That’s striking contrast with past, when outsiders could find themselves wondering, from evidence on view in marketplace, what exactly it was that occupied Coke’s R&D people all day.  Here are some nuggets on innovation front, with broader report coming in upcoming issues of BBI.

Plant-Based PlantBottle Will Offer Dasani Needed Premium Cue    KO upped its green cred while adding needed bit of allure to Dasani bottled water brand by putting it among initial brands to be offered in newly developed PlantBottle fabricated in part from sugar and molasses.  With co backing away from cheap casepack water biz, PlantBottle intro – anticipated for western US metros like Seattle, SF and LA in Jan along with Vancouver as Winter Olympics get going – allows brand to strike more premium note as being “better by design,” per slogan, offering greenest bottle and unmatched purity, noted North America cmo Katie Bayne. 

Initial version of PlantBottle is 1st step in plan by KO to migrate to non-food, plant-based waste, such as wheat stalks, for bottle production.  Bottle content can be as hi as 30% plant-based; used bottles flow right into existing recycling stream.  KO aims to have 2 bil units out by end of 2010.  New bottle has broken in single-serve and 2-liter sizes of Coke, Coke Light and Coke Zero in Denmark, with Western Canada planned for launch among variety of brands in time to showcase them at Olympics in Vancouver early next yr.  In western US, both CSDs and Dasani will get new bottle in Jan.

North America: Vitaminwater Goes to Zero; Smartwater Goes International; CasCal Is Fruit of German Acquisition    KO execs offered glimpse of series of steps they’re taking to revitalize Vitaminwater line whose growth has seriously flagged since 07 acquisition, even as they step up activity behind still-surging sibling Smartwater brand.  And they offered a few details on intriguing fermented-grain drink, CasCal, that recently debuted in Whole Foods (BBI, Oct 20).

On Vitaminwater front, line has augmented vitamin content and is switching to clearer on-label nutritonal info, as well as adding metallic labels.  With Vitaminwater 10 having provided needed boost to brand, it gets upgrade to Truvia-sweetened Vitaminwater Zero, eliminating all calories as well as grousing in some quarters that V10 name was misleading in referring to calorie count of 8-oz serving rather than full 20-oz bottle.  V Zero debuts in XXX, Multi-V, Essential, Mega-C, Go-Go, Recoup and Revitalize flavors early next yr.  Meanwhile, brand’s overseas

expansion continues, with Beijing and Shanghai getting launch last wk.

At time that 1-time titans like Fiji have been sliding, Smartwater continues momentum, vaulting into #1 spot among premium bottled water brands in US.  Now, brand will start showing up as core Coke family member in promos with various marketing partners, said cmo Bayne.  And brand’s international expansion is about to start, as Smartwater hits Toronto and Vancouver. 

Vision 2020 event also featured 1st public presentation on CasCal, hi-end fermented soda that quietly showed up  in northern Calif a few weeks ago via exclusive retail partner Whole Foods.  CasCal, fermented from fruit and grain, was described as “totally new bev” by European group prexy Dominique Reiniche, tho other execs acknowledged it’s partly response to growth in Germany and other Euromarkets of fermented Bionade brand.  Brand is based on fermentation technology developed by 2-man shop in Germany that KO acquired, offering process adaptable to rice, cereal, soy and other ingredients.  CasCal is now available in Whole Foods mainly on East Coast and West Coast in Crisp White and Light Red flavors, with 3d flavor due soon.

‘Fewer But More Scalable Innovations’ in Europe    Mandate in Europe, as in other markets, is “fewer but more scalable innovations, commercialized in a timely fashion,” said European Group prexy Dominique Rieniche.  So how’s that playin’ out?  Verdict’s out on most recent innovations, but no question they got to market pretty fast: CasCal fermented brand that debuted in US (above) was developed in 12 mos in Europe, Illycaffe line took only 9 mos from concept to launch; Burn energy shot took 6 mos, making KO earliest big bevco into segment, and Limon y Nada lemon-juice-and-pulp drink just 5 mos, said Dominique.  Illycaffe, which came out of Brussels R&D lab, now is in 18 countries, including US, limited to select retail channels.  Burn shot is latest of flock of extensions off core Burn energy line, now in 85 countries, including daytime and juice entries and flat-top resealable can. 

On all-natural side, noteworthy innovations include Cappy Whole Press Orange Juice, with 9-mo shelf life and double dose of antioxidants thanks to exclusive partnership with supplier of hi-antioxidant extract.  Other internally developed launches include Nestea Vitao, green tea with aloe vera, and RTD take on made-at-home tradition in Russia, Kvass, using proprietary cereal blend fermented via special process.

Tho KO, in break with past, was willing to take minority investment in UK refrigerated juice brand Innocent, it has hi hopes for line: it’s already in 11 European countries, and meets scalability criteria also by being viewed as platform into extensive smoothie presence and erection of refrigerated distribution network in Europe, much as Odwalla was basis for similar move in US.