Case 1-3 the Coca Cola Co
Case 1-3 Coca Cola Co
Coca-Cola is an iconic symbol of Americana that has deep roots in our society and a presence throughout the globe. The brand has permeated into clothing, household items, electronics and more, with brand recognition and customer loyalty rivaled by none. Throughout its history until the late 1990s the Coca Cola Company, based in Atlanta, Georgia, has put all its eggs into the carbonated beverage basket. With scientific advances and an increasingly health conscious public, Coca Cola has been forced to modify their product line to include “healthier” products and recipes. Ingredients in Coke products such as High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS/corn sugar) and aspartame are now being sold as a healthy alternative to sugar, when they are as unhealthy as sugar if not worse. Although promoted as healthier, independent health and nutrition experts, through peer reviewed research, have scientifically proven otherwise. The Coca Cola Company will need to continue to sacrifice short-term high profit margins for long term growth by re-examining their ingredients as well as further diversifying their product line to adapt to a more sophisticated and informed health conscious consumer.
The Coca Cola Company was incorporated in 1892 by Asa Candler after purchasing the brand and formula from inventor, John Stith Pemberton, in 1889 (“The Coca-Cola Company”, 2012). Throughout its history the company has focused primarily on carbonated beverages with its flagship product, Coca Cola, developed to become one of the world’s most powerful brands (Abramovitch, 2011). In addition to Coke, the majority of revenues are generated from Diet Coke, Sprite and Fanta. Although they consider themselves the “kings of carbonation” (Cravens, 2009, p. 44, para. 3), in 1960 they began to diversify by purchasing Minute Maid and Belmont Spring Water Co. in addition to merging with Duncan Foods (“The Coca Cola Company”, 2005).
Coca-Cola is an iconic symbol of Americana that has deep roots in our society and a presence throughout the globe. The brand has permeated into clothing, household items, electronics and more, with brand recognition and customer loyalty rivaled by none. Throughout its history until the late 1990s the Coca Cola Company, based in Atlanta, Georgia, has put all its eggs into the carbonated beverage basket. With scientific advances and an increasingly health conscious public, Coca Cola has been forced to modify their product line to include “healthier” products and recipes. Ingredients in Coke products such as High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS/corn sugar) and aspartame are now being sold as a healthy alternative to sugar, when they are as unhealthy as sugar if not worse. Although promoted as healthier, independent health and nutrition experts, through peer reviewed research, have scientifically proven otherwise. The Coca Cola Company will need to continue to sacrifice short-term high profit margins for long term growth by re-examining their ingredients as well as further diversifying their product line to adapt to a more sophisticated and informed health conscious consumer.
The Coca Cola Company was incorporated in 1892 by Asa Candler after purchasing the brand and formula from inventor, John Stith Pemberton, in 1889 (“The Coca-Cola Company”, 2012). Throughout its history the company has focused primarily on carbonated beverages with its flagship product, Coca Cola, developed to become one of the world’s most powerful brands (Abramovitch, 2011). In addition to Coke, the majority of revenues are generated from Diet Coke, Sprite and Fanta. Although they consider themselves the “kings of carbonation” (Cravens, 2009, p. 44, para. 3), in 1960 they began to diversify by purchasing Minute Maid and Belmont Spring Water Co. in addition to merging with Duncan Foods (“The Coca Cola Company”, 2005).
References: Abramovitch, S. (May 9, 2011). Apple Overtakes Google as World’s Most Powerful Brand. Gawker (Online). Retrieved from http://gawker.com/5799830/apple-overtakes-google-as-worlds-most-powerful-brand Coca-Cola Company Fox, S. (2012). Using the internet for health information is not the exception. KevinMD.com. Retrieved February 20, 2012 from http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2010/10/internet-health-information-exception.html Fuhrman, E