illy Joins Forces with Coca-Cola

The associated press recently reported that illy coffee, the Trieste, Italy, coffee producer will be joining forces with Coca-Cola to bring premium ready-to-drink coffee products to consumers around the world.

Ready-to-drink coffee products are a ten billion dollar a year industry that is growing at a rate of around ten percent annually.    The alliance of illy and Coca-Cola will harness illy’s coffee experience and couple it with Coca-Cola’s marketing and distribution engine.

Some may recall Coca-Cola Blak, Coke’s initial foray into the read-to-drink coffee market.  An interesting product that had its merits but was not embraced by the public as I believe Coca-Cola had initially hoped it would.

The new illy/Coca-Cola coffee drink will be based on the illy freddo.  Listen to what illy has to say about the illy freddo:

“illy freddo is the way to enjoy espresso even in summertime. The same blend is used and the coffee is always prepared on the spot: so the typical illy espresso aromas of honey, caramel and toasted bread are savored in an iced version…”

Based on my experience to date with illy espresso coffee, this is a coffee drink to keep an eye out for when it makes its appearance here in the U.S. and abroad.  For those who have not had a chance to try illy coffee you might want to take a look at our review of illy Medium Roast Expresso Coffee.