Coca-Cola is set to launch a new 12.5 oz. bottle with a suggested retail price of $0.89, according to an article in the Wall Street Journal. The new package size will accompany last year’s introduction of a 16 oz. bottle priced at $0.99 and the recent release of an 8-pack of 7.5 oz. cans, now priced at $2.99. The move represents a continuation of Coke’s efforts to offer a broad range of packaging and pricing options as consumers grow increasingly wary about overall caloric intake and a weak economy.
According to the story, Coke’s new price-package strategy is based on the success of its bottling partners in Mexico who, in the wake of an economic downturn in the 1990s, began diversifying package sizes and price options over a decade ago. Coke products are now sold in over 30 package sizes in Mexico ranging from 6.75 oz. to three liters and part of the reason that the country is Coke’s top market in per-capita consumption.
While Coke’s new single-serve package sizes are less expensive than their larger counterparts, consumers are paying more per ounce. This pricing strategy allows Coke to increase revenue and profits while at the same time scale back per transaction volume amidst the rising cost of raw materials, like sugar and petroleum. Coke has also employed this strategy in its new 1.25 liter bottle designed for future consumption and priced at $0.99.
“In the U.S.A., we’re really just at the beginning [of new package sizes],” said Sandy Douglas, president of Coca-Cola North America.