There's a new chilled coffee-based beverage coming out, and it has nothing to do with Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX). Soda pop giant Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) announced that it would be rolling out Blak -- a lightly-carbonated drink blending cola with coffee -- in the coming weeks.
France will be the first market to get a crack at Coke's latest entry next month, with a stateside debut to follow later in the year.
It's an interesting, though not entirely unexpected, move by Coke. The company is clearly aiming at adult beverage-sippers who have replaced soft drinks with energy drinks like Red Bull. It's also a shot at Starbucks, which seems to have no shortage of fans for its Frappuccinos, or those DoubleShot canned beverages that consist of espresso and cream.
But what will this ultimately mean? Will it have a negative impact on Starbucks, or will it simply educate the market by drawing in a new tide of java junkies?
History is on Starbucks' side. From 7-Eleven to McDonald's (NYSE:MCD) to Krispy Kreme (NYSE:KKD), many longstanding establishments with huge bases have introduced premium coffee drinks. Just last month, Burger King upgraded its coffee and began testing a chilled coffee-based beverage. Yet despite all of these companies attempting to hop on Starbucks' coattails -- some of them successfully -- it hasn't slowed Starbucks at all. Comps have continued to inch higher. In fact, same-store sales were up a healthy 8% this past quarter. So let the titans jump right on -- the fabric of these coattails apparently has the ability to stretch.
Does that mean an investor should gobble up shares of Coca-Cola as a way to play on Blak's success? It has been a slightly positive investment for Inside Value subscribers. But can one product really make a difference? Well, the company claims to serve a billion beverages a day. Even if Blak is a runaway hit, it's going to take some time before it truly has an impact on the company's bottom line. However, if you go by the retail pricing on energy drinks like Red Bull, Monster, and Rock Star -- or Starbucks' chilly creations -- Coke is going to be able to command far more for a smaller serving of Blak than it does for its canned pop lines. Success may add up far more quickly than some think
I'll just hold off until Coke blends coffee with Sprite to create Klear. You just know it's got to be coming.
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Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz will admit that he's not much of a coffee drinker, though he's curious enough to give Blak a shot. He does own shares in Jones Soda. The Fool has a disclosure policy . He is also part of the Rule Breakers newsletter research team, seeking out tomorrow's ultimate growth stocks a day early.
