• Reuters, Monday, December 12, 2005 11:30 AM

More news is seeping out concerning Coca-Cola Co.'s new product plans for next year. Last week it was revealed that the giant beverage marketer is seeking to expand its product base beyond soda with the launch of several new coffee, tea, juice, and energy drinks. Among those are Coke Blak, a coffee cola targeting adults over 35, a black tea brand called Gold Peak, and a ready-to-drink coffee brand dubbed Far Coast. Now comes word that the company might team up with the gourmet chocolate marketer Godiva for a new line of ready-to-drink coffee products under the Godiva brand name. Neither Coke nor Godiva parent Campbell Soup Co., would comment, but when those other new products were announced at an investor conference last week, Coke marketing chief Mary Minnick said the company intends to launch "indulgence coffees" in North America next year. Godiva already sells premium coffees in various flavors, and Wall Street has been expecting more action from Coke in the small but fast-growing, and high-margin, ready-to-drink coffee segment. The bottled and canned coffee market stands at about 40 million cases a year and grew at a rate of more than 15 percent in 2004.

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