Just recently, I talked about a transaction involving PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP) and a foreign juice company. Now, it is Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) and a foreign coffee venture that are making some noise.

As Melly Alazraki reported Thursday, Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling and Illycafe SpA put together a joint venture to get some ready-to-drink coffees out on the global playing field. The venture, dubbed Ilko Coffee International, will begin distribution of its products in April in ten countries. Coffee doesn't interest me, but this venture does, since I own shares of Coke. Just like PepsiCo, Coke wants to do all it can to supplement its flagship carbonated soda brands with different beverage categories.

While I don't like coffee, I know that it is a very popular drink around the world; in some respects, consumers are almost religious about coffee (and teas, as well). According to Bloomberg, the value of the ready-for-consumption coffee market is $16 billion, and it is focused in the Asian territory. This international scheme is therefore a great way for American shareholders to capitalize on a weak dollar. Many consumer companies these days are being helped out by currency valuations.

I can only imagine that this market will grow significantly over time, and that Coca-Cola would be smart to aggressively invest in it and leverage its world-class distribution system to grab as much share as it possibly can. Future growth in case-volume is going to be directly dependent on Coke and its ability to work with its bottlers to efficiently exploit opportunities such as these.

With its blue-chip marketing muscle, I have no doubt that Coke will be able to translate many of these kinds of deals, in conjunction with its already deep collection of beverage products, into quality cash flows and further increases in its annual dividend payout, which is the ultimate reason for being a shareholder.

Disclosure: I own shares of Coca-Cola; positions can change at any time.

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.