Emboldened by the demand for Starbucks ready-to-drink coffee beverages, Coca Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) and coffee roaster illycafe have announced a global joint venture to produce bottled coffee. Coke's entry into this category is hardly any surprise, given the advertised $10 billion scope of the global market and the long-established presence of its main rival, Pepsi.

Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX) ready-to-drink coffee beverages are distributed through a partnership with PepsiCo Inc. (NYSE: PEP), highlighting a new showdown in the battle for share-of-stomach. The landscape has shifted from cola vs. the world to a new market in which each beverage vertical, from water to premium juices to green teas to (now) milky, sweetened bottled coffees is really just Coke vs. Pepsi couched in other brands.

Interestingly, Starbucks and Pepsi have struggled with the ready-to-drink coffee segment in the past; in the first fiscal quarter of 2007, Starbucks management expressed dissatisfaction with its sales. In the third quarter ending June 30, 2007, however, the trend reversed and the segment showed 24% improvement.

Enough success, I suppose, to encourage Coke and illycafe to go forward with their talks -- Coke had mentioned plans for a line of "latte" beverages last year. The deal won't be final until the end of the year, so no word on the exact makeup of the products (although I can bet it will look largely similar to Starbucks' lineup), or when they'll be launched. Interestingly, there is no mention of Coca-Cola's "Blak" coffee-flavored sodas, launched about a year ago and discontinued at the end of August.