How About a Coca-Cola Manicure?

The beverage company teams up with OPI to create soda-inspired nail polish.

ByABC News
May 14, 2014, 10:32 AM
The Coca-Cola by OPI nail polish line.
The Coca-Cola by OPI nail polish line.
Tina Trinh

May 14, 2015— -- Coca-Cola has a new line of products brewing, but you won't find them in the beverage aisle. The company's latest collaboration is with nail polish brand OPI, and the results are nine new shades inspired by the soda maker's signature drinks.

Need some classic red nails to complete that summer outfit? Try "Coca-Cola Red," a bright, cherry red that could easily switch places with the signature hue of Coca-Cola's famous logo. Purple more your style? "A Grape Affair," is an dark, eggplant shade inspired by Fanta Grape.

Like their real-life counterparts, the nail polish colors here lean towards the bold and bright. "Orange You Fantastic" is a sparkly, disco ball of a shade, filled with orange and gold glitter and inspired by Fanta Orange . . . definitely not for the faint-of-heart. Sprite has been translated into "Green on the Runway," a pearlized shade that simultaneously shifts between the lime green of Sprite's logo and a darker, camo shade of green.

It may seem like an oddball pairing, but the connection between Coca-Cola and beauty products is not unprecedented. Kate Dwyer, group director Worldwide Licensing for Coca-Cola, said that partnerships with nail polish and lipstick brands actually date back to the 1940s. More recent products include Bonne Bell's Coca-Cola flavored lip balms.

"Now that we've come out with this, I hear so many people saying, 'Oh wow, I was in a salon and somebody was saying, hey I want Coke Red' and they were trying to find what they thought was a comparable Coke-red polish. So I think it's something consumers were organically doing on their own, and it just allows us to meet some of those demands that already existed," noted Dwyer.

The OPI collaboration also gives Coca-Cola a presence in the recent nail art trend, which involves intricate and detailed patterns vs. a simple swath of color. By inserting itself into the scene, the beverage company is no doubt attempting to assert its cool factor among a younger, hipper crowd. "[The polishes] are a great connection point for consumers, [it] reminds you of the beverage and drives brand love. For anything that we do, we look at connecting with our consumers and what things will provoke reconsideration of our brands," said Dwyer.

Coca-Cola by OPI will be available this June in both nail lacquer and GelColor formulas. Individual shades will retail for $9 at professional salons such as Beauty Brands, Beauty First, Chatters, Dillard’s, JCP Salons, Pure Beauty, Regis, Trade Secret, ULTA and ULTA.com.