According to a report in The Guardian, the new Fairlife milk went on sale yesterday in a selection of US supermarkets. It costs $4.59 (€4.01) for a 52-ounce bottle compared to the national average of $2.18 (€1.90) for 64-ounces of milk. The milk also comes in chocolate flavour.

Steve Jones, a former Coca Cola executive who is now chief executive of the company’s Fairlife joint venture with dairy farmers, said the new milk would help reverse the decline in milk consumption by offering a superior product that he claims would taste nicer. He claimed the milk would be “better for cows, better for people and better for the planet”.

The new brand of milk has already become a source of fun on Twitter, with people quickly branding it “Milka-Cola” and wondering what would happen if Coca Cola was to venture into the wine-making business.

Jones dismissed claims that the new drink amounted to the “Frankensteining of milk”. “[This is about] leaving all the calcium and protein intact, just giving us a [end result of] higher level of protein and less sugars,” he said.