Coke, Illy to take it slow in marketing coffee drinks

The slow-building plan to become the globe's leading premium RTD coffee:

Coke and Illy have three versions of Illy Issimo: caffe, cappuccino and latte macchiato. The drinks come in silver single-serving cans typically priced between $2.49 to $2.69.

The Illy Issimo drinks are now offered in 15 countries. Early this year, the beverages were introduced in New York and Los Angeles, the first U.S. markets. San Francisco was recently added.

By the end of 2010, Coke and Illy expect to have Issimo in 6 to 8 major U.S. markets, Kapoor said. The joint venture also is targeting key national accounts, such as Whole Foods Market, that could broaden distribution, he said.

AJC