Topo Chico will come into Coca-Cola’s Venturing & Emerging Brands (VEB) unit, with the brand ‘fitting nicely alongside Coca-Cola’s evolving portfolio in North America’.
Texas and beyond
Topo Chico is imported from a natural source in Cerro del Topo Chico in northern Mexico, where it has been bottled since 1895. Arca Continental, Coca-Cola’s second-largest bottling partner in Latin America, has bottled and distributed Topo Chico for the last 30 years.
Coca-Cola identifies Topo Chico as a ‘fast growing brand with a lot of passion behind it and growth runway ahead’, against a backdrop of double digit growth in the premium imported sparkling water category.
Matt Hughes, VP of Emerging brands, VEB, said: “Topo Chico is a zero-sugar, zero-calorie, sparkling mineral water brand that fits nicely alongside our evolving portfolio in North America.
“It’s more of a lifestyle brand than a hydration brand. From a portfolio perspective, Topo Chico is additive, we see it as incremental based on its very unique proposition and taste, which comes from its natural source. This is important as we look to drive growth in part by building and buying brands in adjacent categories.”
Topo Chico is currently sold in Northern Mexico and 35 US states, with approximately 70% of US sales coming from Texas.
“Our goal now is to extend its reach while preserving its heritage,” says Coca-Cola.
Coca-Cola’s VEB unit is focused on incubating and identifying a portfolio of smaller, high value brands: putting products on ‘the right path to join the company’s roster of billion-dollar brands’.