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Coca-Cola Co. (KO) and Italian coffee company Illy are launching a ready-to-drink coffee called Illy Issimo across the United States and key European countries in the coming days, the head of a joint venture formed by the two companies said Tuesday.

"The ready-to-drink coffee business is worth $17 billion and it's expanding 10% every year, excluding Japan, which now accounts for 75% of global sales," said Vinay Kapoor, chief executive of Ilko, the Coca-Cola-Illy joint venture formed in October 2007.

Illy Issimo is a "mass luxury product," said Kapoor, adding it was aimed at the top end of the ready-to-drink coffee market.

Large retailers will be avoided, preferring selected outlets and university stores, he said.

The Italian-American canned coffee was test-launched in New York and Los Angeles in recent days, competing with Starbucks Iced Coffee, a Pepsi-Starbucks joint venture product.

Ilko aims to reach 30% of the premium ready-to-drink coffee market by 2012, and plans to enter the Japanese market later in 2009.

-By Luca Casiraghi, Dow Jones Newswires, +39 02 5821 9907; luca.casiraghi@dowjones.com