The Coca-Cola Co. is pushing its Olympic ties with its Minute Maid brand via limited edition packaging featuring Olympic hopefuls and in-store signage.

Minute Maid is the official juice beverage sponsor of U.S. Olympic Team. To promote the tie-in, the Olympic logo and five U.S. Olympic athletes will be featured on 64-ounce cartons of Minute Maid orange juice, lemonades and fruit drinks through August. Its message to consumers is: “Bring Home the Goodness.”

The limited edition packaging will be on 44 million units of juice products, Alison Powell, brand manager for Minute Maid, said.

During the Olympic Games, which run from Aug. 8-24, the brand reps will serve juices and drinks to athletes and spectators at the Olympic Green. The company will also serve Minute Maid juices at all three U.S. Olympic Training Centers and in the Athlete Village during the event.

The brand is using the sponsorship to celebrate Olympic athletes while promoting its beverages and healthy living message.

“The athletes of the U.S. team are real and genuine and authentic,” Jackie Hroch, brand activation manager for Minute Maid, said. “They connect well with our values.”

In-store signage will promote the packaging and one Olympic athlete in August in stores nationwide, she said. Minute Maid also dropped an FSI around its lemonade brand in June promoting the tie-in and also set up in-store signage during the July 4 weekend.

Minute Maid has been an Olympic sponsor since 1984, the company said. A similar promotion supporting the Winter Olympic Games ran in 2006, Hroch said.

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