Remember when Coca-Cola bought our sacred, beloved Topo Chico and we all worried that it would mean the worst for the iconic brand? Well, get out your sandwich boards because the end may be nigh.
In what can only be described as “weird,” Coke announced “an experimental drink inspired by Topo Chico sparkling mineral water,” the creatively named “Topo Chico Hard seltzer.”
Immediately, there are a couple of oddball things here:
One: The first big move by Coke with Topo Chico is to make it boozy, and
Two: Coke is releasing an alcoholic beverage.
Interestingly, it's not Coca-Cola’s first attempt to launch an alcoholic drink. A quick internet search reveals that they released a lemon-flavored “alcopop” in Japan in 2018.
If you're wondering where to get an ice-cold Topo Chico Hard Seltzer, you'll have to wait. It will only be available "in select cities in Latin America" sometime later this year. When it is available though, get ready for your friend from Austin to incessantly tell you how much better it is than White Claw.
On paper, it’s not a bad idea for Coke to get into the hard seltzer game.
According to the IWSR, a firm that tracks alcoholic beverage trends, the category will surpass vodka and whisky combined in terms of volume consumed by next year.
So, yes. It makes a certain amount of sense but there will be a number of Texans who will just see it as a smear on one of their favorite brands.
Who knows. Maybe it will be good. We are all mixing our Topos with booze anyway, right?
