As part of a continuing effort to offer customers a wide variety of menu choices that appeal to today’s consumers’ interest, McDonald’s (NYSE: MCD) is sampling Coca-Cola C2 at 27 restaurants in five markets. According to Coke, Coca-Cola C2 has half the carbohydrates, calories and sugar of regular cola, and “all the great taste.”
Selected McDonald’s restaurants in Atlanta, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Orlando will be giving away a 12 oz. can of Coca-Cola C2 with the purchase an Extra Value Meal(R). In Orlando, in-restaurant guests will receive a free Coca-Cola C2 with any purchase. Drive-thru guests will be given a retail coupon for a free 20 oz. bottle of Coca-Cola C2 with any purchase. The sampling at McDonald’s will take place from 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Friday, June 11 through Sunday June 13 at participating McDonald’s restaurants, while supplies last. Eight McDonald’s restaurants (three in the Chicagoland area and five in Los Angeles) will be the first to test and offer consumers C2 as a fountain beverage, also beginning on June 11.
“McDonald’s is committed to satisfying our customers by providing a wide variety of appealing food and drink choices that meet their changing tastes, lifestyles and dietary needs,” said Terri Capatosto Vice President of Customer Satisfaction, McDonald’s USA. “We are very pleased to partner with Coca-Cola to be the first restaurant company to make this new option available to our guests.”
While McDonald’s is the first chain to offer Coca-Cola C2, the new brand will begin showing up on retail store shelves across the U.S. in early June. Coca-Cola C2 was first unveiled to consumers in Japan on May 18.
“We’re responding again to what our consumers are telling us they want,” said Don Knauss, president and chief operating officer, Coca-Cola North America. “Today’s consumers are looking for choices that fit their lifestyles. They want to keep enjoying the special cola taste that Coca-Cola delivers, but with the option of a lower-carb, lower-calorie soft drink. Coca-Cola C2 gives that freedom of choice.”
The Coca-Cola C2 sampling and test program at McDonald’s is part of an integrated marketing strategy surrounding Coca-Cola’s beverage launch. It is not known at this time if Coca-Cola C2 will become a permanent fountain beverage offering at McDonald’s. It will be evaluated after the testing phase is complete.
McDonald’s is the world’s leading food service retailer with more than 30,000 local McDonald’s restaurants serving 47 million customers each day in approximately 120 countries. More than 70 percent of McDonald’s restaurants around the world are owned and operated by independent, local businessmen and women.
The Coca-Cola Company is the world’s largest beverage company. Along with Coca-Cola, the Company markets four of the world’s top five soft drink brands, including Diet Coke, Fanta and Sprite, and a wide range of other beverages, including diet and light soft drinks, waters, juices and juice drinks, teas, coffees and sports drinks. Through the world’s largest distribution system, consumers in more than 200 countries enjoy the Company’s beverages at a rate exceeding one billion servings each day. For more information about The Coca- Cola Company, visit http://www.coca-cola.com