Coke Launches DTC in UK

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) has launched a new direct-to-consumer (DTC) platform, Your Coca-Cola, in the United Kingdom. The website allows visitors to directly purchase and get deliveries of its new hard seltzer, Topo Chico.

Edgy E-Commerce

Your Coca-Cola marks the first e-commerce platform for the company in Great Britain, with the engine provided by The Hut Group (LSE: THG) based in Manchester, England. THG hosts and manages over 150 e-commerce websites around the globe via its proprietary platform. Founded in 2004 by Mattheew Moulding, CDO, and John Gallemore, the company has grown by acquisition and now annual revenue in excess of £1 billion ($1.3 billion).

For the Coca-Cola site, THG Ingenuity provides a complete service stack of hosting, marketing technology, creative, and payments and checkout.

Topo Chico Delivered to Your Door

Coke’s DTC strategy in Britain allows consumers to buy their favorite Coke products online, and get delivered to their door, for free shipping if the spend is between £30 and £50. Orders under £30 come with a delivery fee of £5, and orders over £150 must pay an additional £10 for delivery.

Through a unique dynamic lookup, the site allows shoppers to type in their postal code and then find their specific address from a dropdown list of all available delivery points. This helps the system ensure accurate delivery and avoid the issues that come with consumers mistyping their address.

In addition to flagship soft drinks, the 40 products currently offered on the site include Topo Chico hard seltzer, Appletiser, the company’s sparkling apple juice, Costa Coffee, and Monster Energy drinks. After a quick self-verification that you are 18 years or older (legal drinking age in the UK), Topo Chico can be purchased in single cans of three different flavors.

Subscription Benefits

Coke offers bundles and deals on the site, as well as larger product formats that are typically found at retail in the UK. Additionally, through the sites subscription service, members are notified about new products, and have the opportunity to purchase new products before they are sold in retail stores, in some cases.

According to a message from Marco Geraldes, Strategic Projects Director at Coca-Cola European Partners, “Your Coca-Cola also gives us the chance to drive trial across our existing range, alongside testing and refining new products and innovations before bringing them to market.”

In a test of the website, after adding some soft drinks and a can of Topo Chico hard seltzer to our cart (“basket”), we were offered a free gift of Topo Chico. We could choose from a 330ml can of Tropical Mango, Tangy Lemon Lime, or Cherry Acai.

Options for payment include Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and PayPal.