The Coca-Cola Company fell on hard times in 2014, just like other junk food and processed food giants.

Like Kraft, Kellogg Company and ConAgra Foods, Coca-Cola is trying to figure out the best path forward -- the next big thing for changing tastes.

And they're banking on milk.

'Simply' Milk

Coca-Cola introduced Minute Maid Fairlife milk, a lactose-free, high-protein, less sugar, and more calcium version of milk. (50 percent more protein, 30 percent less sugar, and 30 percent more calcium than milk, to be exact.)

Fairlife has an extended shelf life, meaning it lasts about 100 days versus milk's average of 14 days.

Coca-Cola has used its mighty marketing arm to help support the launch of Fairlife, appealing to those who are going for fresh or natural foods. The company calls the product the "Simply" of milk, and points to family farms where milk is supplied.

Market Gamble

Strangely, though, Coca-Cola is entering the dairy industry when milk consumption is at a low. Analysts believe that Coca-Cola's marketing and advertisement could boost milk consumption overall in the long run.

Bloggers have been eager to taste-test -- and then write about -- about Coca-Cola's new milk product. For some, the surprising closeness in taste and scent to milk was off-putting, while others cheered the flavor.

Premium milk comes at a premium price -- a 52-ounce bottle of Fairlife costs $4.59 on average, while a regular half-gallon (64-ounce) of milk costs around $3.99.

Read More:

• Scenarios That Could Change Coca-Cola As We Know It (Forbes)
• This Is Your Milk On Coke (Yale Books Unbound)
• Coca-Cola's New 'Super Milk' Fairlife Is Super Weird (Eater)