可口可樂試水日本氣泡酒市場

After 125 teetotal years, Coca-Cola has decided to take the plunge and dabble with alcohol.

度過了滴酒不沾的125年后，可口可樂(Coca-Cola)決定冒險涉足酒類飲料業(yè)務。

The world’s biggest soft drinks company has chosen Japan to test its tolerance to the hard stuff by joining the growing Japanese market for “Chu-Hi” alcopops.

全球最大軟飲料公司已選擇在日本測試自己的“酒量”，它將加入日本日益增長的“Chu-Hi”氣泡酒市場。

The gambit, which one senior Coke executive described as “unique in our history”, will propel the US company into a competitive arena dominated by Japanese brands such as Strong Zero, Highball Lemon and Slat.

此舉被可口可樂一位高管形容為“我公司歷史上獨一無二”，它將使這家美國公司進入一個競爭激烈的市場，該市場目前由Strong Zero、Highball Lemon和Slat等日本品牌主導。

Jorge Garduno, president of Coke’s Japanese division, said the plan to enter the market “makes sense” and was an example of how the company was exploring opportunities outside its core areas. “Coca-Cola has always focused entirely on non-alcoholic beverages, and this is [a] modest experiment for a specific slice of our market,” he said, adding that he did not think people around the world should expect to see similar innovations.

可口可樂日本分公司總裁喬治•加杜尼奧(Jorge Garduno)表示，進入該市場的計劃“是有道理的”，是該公司在其核心領域之外探索機會的一個例子。他說：“可口可樂一直以來只專注于非酒精飲料，而這是我們對一塊特定市場的適度嘗試。”他還表示，他不認為全球其他地區(qū)消費者會看到類似的創(chuàng)新產(chǎn)品。

There are hundreds of flavours of Chu-Hi, a canned alcoholic drink made from a distilled beverage called shochu and sparkling water. The Japanese market for the vodka-like spirit — distilled from potatoes, rice, barley or sugar — has expanded almost 40 per cent since 2011.

Chu-Hi是一種罐裝酒精飲料，由日本“燒酒”和蘇打水制成，有數(shù)百種口味。燒酒是與伏特加類似的烈酒，以蒸餾方式從發(fā)酵后的土豆、大米、大麥或蔗糖等原料釀造。自2011年以來，日本的燒酒市場擴大近40%。

Chu-Hi canned drinks mostly range in alcohol content between 3 and 8 per cent — a profile that has put them in competition with beer. The appeal of Chu-Hi has been enhanced by the relentless trial-and-error approach by major Japanese producers Kirin, Asahi, Takara and Suntory, which have released flavours that include yoghurt, acerola and wild basil.

Chu-Hi罐裝飲料的酒精含量大多在3%至8%之間，這一特點讓它們成了啤酒的競爭對手。麒麟(Kirin)、朝日(Asahi)、Takara和三得利(Suntory)等日本各大釀造商的不斷嘗試，提高了Chu-Hi的吸引力，它們推出了層出不窮的眾多口味，包括酸奶、西印度櫻桃和野生羅勒。

The move into alcohol comes as Coca-Cola, like other big food groups, has faced shrinking sales in its core business: fizzy drinks. As a younger generation of consumers shun sugar, Coke has invested in products in faster-growing segments, such as water and tea.

可口可樂進軍酒精飲料市場之際，與其他大型食品集團一樣，其核心業(yè)務汽水的銷售正在萎縮。隨著年輕一代消費者開始少喝含糖飲料，可口可樂已投資于飲用水和茶等快速增長領域的產(chǎn)品。

James Quincey, Coke’s chief executive, said last month that the company had launched more than 500 new products in 2017. “We’re making innovations in Coke, innovations with flavours, innovations with ingredients all around the world . . . taking it into different categories than it was in before,” he said.

可口可樂首席執(zhí)行官詹姆斯•昆西(James Quincey)上月表示，該公司在2017年推出了500多種新產(chǎn)品。他說：“我們正在對可口可樂進行創(chuàng)新，包括口味的創(chuàng)新，用世界各地食材進行創(chuàng)新……讓其進入與之前不同的品類。”

Additional reporting by Anna Nicolaou 安娜•尼科拉烏(Anna Nicolaou)補充報道