If you haven't slept through the last year, you've probably noticed the snowballing hype around all things space.In another major milestone toward making going to space no different from getting on a plane, space tourism company Virgin Galactic (SPCE) this week opened its tickets to the general public. (At $450,000 a ticket, the accessibility of this is an entirely different issue.)
That price tag should fall over time and going to space may (eventually) become something that's not just for billionaires. This may not happen for quite a while, but traveling to space at all for non-astronauts still seems hard to imagine and Virgin Galactic has made it a reality.
As excitement around space grows and mimics what was seen during the 1950s Space Race, it was only a matter of time before companies started getting in on the hype to sell us products.
The Coca-Cola Company
What On Earth Is Coca-Cola Starlight?
The latest product from Coca-Cola (KO) is, fittingly, Coca Cola Starlight: a limited-edition drink that aims to capture "the feeling of a cold journey to space."
Available nationwide from February 21, the space-themed drink was developed in partnership with Coca-Cola Creations — a side platform tasked with innovating new products for the company. Available in Original and Zero Sugar versions, Coca-Cola Starlight will be sold in 20-ounce bottles and 10-packs of 7.5-ounce mini cans.
While the drink's reddish color is "inspired by the light of the stars," what space actually tastes like is being kept purposefully mysterious. Theories of the taste have been proliferating on Reddit in advance of the release: hints of raspberries and chocolate are some of the most common guesses.
"In a world of infinite possibilities, somewhere in our universe, another kind of Coca-Cola, another way of connecting with each other might exist," the company said in a statement announcing the release.
Are Limited-Edition Drinks A Good Marketing Strategy?
To further market the new space drink, Coca-Cola is also partnering with pop star Ava Max for what it calls an “out of this world digital-first marketing campaign."
The strategy of food products tied to major historical and cultural trends is hardly a new phenomenon — competitor Pepsi (PEP) once released a dragonfruit-flavored drink known as Pepsi X in conjunction with a new season of the popular show "The X Factor."
Last year, Coca-Cola launched a new brand platform called Real Magic. The goal was to start a long-term strategy for marketing Coca-Cola products not just in standard ways but also in emerging technologies such as the metaverse.
A branch of Real Magic, Coca-Cola Creations is tasked with continuously pumping out new products: Coca-Cola with Coffee Mocha hit the shelves in the U.S. just two weeks ago.
While any new product generates initial hype around the brand, not all are equally successful — in October, the company discontinued over 200 brands like Tab, Zico and Odwalla. Despite the preponderance of different products, Classic Coke retained its spot as the world's most-bought carbonated beverage in 2021
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