25/06/12

Soft beverage giant Coca-Cola is to distribute its first dairy beverage in a number of states from July.

According to a Wall Street Journal report, ‘Core Power’ – which is described as a high protein workout shake – will be distributed to around 10,000 outlets by the autumn, up from the current 600.

The brand belongs to Fair Oaks Farm Brands, and is available in honey, chocolate, vanilla and strawberry banana flavours. It was originally test launched in Texas in 2009 under the name ‘Athletes Honey Milk’. The deal with Coca-Cola will see Arizona, Indiana and Illinois join Texas and Colorado as states where the drink is available.

Close to 400 million bottles of Core Power are said to have been bought so far this year. It is made using a Fair Oaks proprietary filtration system which removes lactose – which can be hard to digest – from milk while increasing protein content.

Coca-Cola is already present in the sports drink market with Powerade, which ranks second in the USA behind PepsiCo’s Gatorade.

The US market for muscle recovery and strength-building protein aids is said to be worth around $2 billion, $500 million of which is accounted for by protein drinks.