The Coca-Cola Company’s KO strategy of becoming a total beverage company is quite on track. The company is optimistic about its powerful portfolio, supported by system's unique capabilities and meaningful innovations.

We note that the company is foraying in the fast-evolving prebiotic soda market via the launch of Simply Pop. The new beverage, which comes in five fruit flavors, will resonate well with customers’ demand for gut-health drinks. The flavors include lime, fruit punch, pineapple mango, citrus punch and strawberry. 

Simply Pop will be available for consumers on Amazon and at national grocery stores in 12-ounce cans. The new beverage will debut under the company-owned and recognized Simply brand in certain regions and online via Amazon Fresh in late February this year. The 12-ounce cans will come at $2.49 each, comprising six grams of prebiotic fiber, zinc and vitamin C for boosting immunity.

As the prebiotic soft-drink market is evolving fast, the company’s new launch is likely to compete against Olipop and Poppi, which have majorly grabbed consumer interest in gut-health beverages. Per sources, Coca-Cola was earlier exploring Poppi’s buyout, however, did not finalize any deal.

Simply Pop, a new functional beverage, will be focused on health-conscious consumers and capture extra sales and profits for the company. KO’s Simply brand initially came as an orange juice brand and is now expanded into other fruit juices, along with mocktail mixes, cocktails and currently sodas.

Coca-Cola’s Other Notable Efforts

KO’s digital initiatives position it well for growth ahead. The company is accelerating investments to build strong digital capabilities, hence evolving into an organization that efficiently executes marketing, commercial, sales and distribution, both offline and online. It is strengthening consumer connections and piloting numerous digital-enabled initiatives through fulfillment methods to capture online demand for at-home consumption.

This Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company is progressing well with the rollout of multi-category eB2B platforms with its bottlers globally. Coca-Cola and its bottling partners have been investing to digitize their customer base by integrating fragmented-trade customers into B2B platforms.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Shares of this beverage behemoth have gained 10.4% in the past three months compared with the industry’s 2.1% rise.

Stocks to Consider in Consumer Staples Space

Freshpet, Inc. FRPT, a pet food company, delivered a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 144.5%. FRPT currently sports a Zacks Rank of 1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Freshpet’s current financial-year sales and earnings per share (EPS) indicates growth of 24.2% and 74.2%, respectively, from the prior-year reported levels.

United Natural Foods UNFI, a key distributor of natural, organic and specialty food and non-food products, presently has a Zacks Rank of 2 (Buy). The consensus estimate for United Natural Foods’ current financial-year sales and EPS indicates growth of 0.3% and 442.9%, respectively, from the prior-year reported levels.

UNFI delivered a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 553.1%.

McCormick & Company MKC, a manufacturer and distributor of spices, seasonings, specialty foods and flavors, currently carries a Zacks Rank #2. MKC delivered a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 12.9%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for MKC’s current financial-year sales and EPS indicates growth of 1.4% and 4.1%, respectively, from the year-ago reported figures. 

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

CocaCola Company (The) (KO) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Freshpet, Inc. (FRPT) : Free Stock Analysis Report

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (MKC) : Free Stock Analysis Report

United Natural Foods, Inc. (UNFI) : Free Stock Analysis Report

To read this article on Zacks.com click here.

Zacks Investment Research