Coke Blak Case Analysis
Coke Blāk Case Analysis
I. Summary:
Coca-Cola is the world’s largest non-alcoholic beverage manufacturer. The company has been in existence for more than 120 years and offers more than 3,500 products in more than 200 countries. Within the past 10 years, the carbonated beverage industry has experienced a decline in sales. This drop in sales is most likely associated with more knowledgeable consumers and the facts presented that link obesity to the high amounts of sugars in these beverages. In the earlier 2000s, Coca-Cola saturated the market with an abundance of new products, such as Coke Zero, Coca-Cola with Lemon, Coca-Cola Vanilla, and Coke Blāk. Many of these new brands did not receive good reviews and have since been pulled from the shelves to become an idea of the past. In this analysis, I will specifically be looking at the short lived lifecycle of Coca-Cola’s Coke Blāk and some possible reasons as to why this product is didn’t make the cut.
Coke Blāk was introduced as a “carbonated fusion beverage”, which is a coffee flavored coke. The target population of this product was a sophisticated individual in their late 20s and 30s in search of a new experience. Coca-Cola marketed Blāk as having, “Coke effervescence with coffee essence”.
II. Key Issues:
There were many issues that Coca-Cola faced externally that would discourage consumers from experimenting with any new products that were released during the early 2000s. A push for healthier living had begun and consumers were more apt to purchase non-carbonated beverages such as juice, bottled water, tea, and coffee due to the association of obesity with high fructose corn syrup. This resulted in a decline in sales for the entire carbonated beverage industry. Coca-Cola’s response to this dilemma was to saturate the market with products that they fused with flavors such as lemon, lime, vanilla, and raspberry. Many of these products were short lived and for sometime hurt the Coke brand.
Pepsi,
I. Summary:
Coca-Cola is the world’s largest non-alcoholic beverage manufacturer. The company has been in existence for more than 120 years and offers more than 3,500 products in more than 200 countries. Within the past 10 years, the carbonated beverage industry has experienced a decline in sales. This drop in sales is most likely associated with more knowledgeable consumers and the facts presented that link obesity to the high amounts of sugars in these beverages. In the earlier 2000s, Coca-Cola saturated the market with an abundance of new products, such as Coke Zero, Coca-Cola with Lemon, Coca-Cola Vanilla, and Coke Blāk. Many of these new brands did not receive good reviews and have since been pulled from the shelves to become an idea of the past. In this analysis, I will specifically be looking at the short lived lifecycle of Coca-Cola’s Coke Blāk and some possible reasons as to why this product is didn’t make the cut.
Coke Blāk was introduced as a “carbonated fusion beverage”, which is a coffee flavored coke. The target population of this product was a sophisticated individual in their late 20s and 30s in search of a new experience. Coca-Cola marketed Blāk as having, “Coke effervescence with coffee essence”.
II. Key Issues:
There were many issues that Coca-Cola faced externally that would discourage consumers from experimenting with any new products that were released during the early 2000s. A push for healthier living had begun and consumers were more apt to purchase non-carbonated beverages such as juice, bottled water, tea, and coffee due to the association of obesity with high fructose corn syrup. This resulted in a decline in sales for the entire carbonated beverage industry. Coca-Cola’s response to this dilemma was to saturate the market with products that they fused with flavors such as lemon, lime, vanilla, and raspberry. Many of these products were short lived and for sometime hurt the Coke brand.
Pepsi,
Cited: Credeur, M. (2005, December 07). Coke poured out 1,000 new products in 2005. Bloomberg News. Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/food/2005-12-07-coke-products_x.htm Gerlich, N. (2007, September 07). Goodbye coca cola blak. we hardly knew ye. Retrieved from http://nickgerlich.wordpress.com/2007/09/07/blak-eye/ Howard, T. (2005, December 13). Pepsi beats coke with stock surge. USA Today. Retrieved from http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/industries/food/2005-12-13-coke-pepsi-usat_x.htm James, I. (1995, September 20). One part coffee, one part soda, mix in some marketing muscle...: Starbucks and pepsi test mazagran, their new 'sparkling ' coffee, on westside consumers. Los Angeles Times Manning-Schaffel, V. (2006, June 05). Coca-cola blāk. Retrieved from http://www.brandchannel.com/features_profile.asp?pr_id=287 Melody. (2010, August 07). A starbucks history lesson: Bottled starbucks mazagran. Retrieved from http://www.starbucksmelody.com/2010/08/07/a-starbucks-history-lesson-bottled-starbucks-mazagran/