Coca-Cola - McGraw-Hill Introduction to Business

Soda Surges in Popularity after Decade-Long Decline

November 12, 2024

Nearly ten years ago, soda seemed to be losing its appeal with consumers as public health campaigns warned against sugary soft drinks and schools took soda out of vending machines and off of lunch menus. After per-capita consumption of soda among Americans fell to a new low in 2015, Coca-Cola and Pepsi started expanding their product lines to include diet sodas, flavored water, and energy drinks. With so many healthy choices available, industry insiders began to assume that consumers who Continue reading →

Branding, Promotions, Pricing, Marketing, Coca-Cola, Product Distribution, Soda, Food & Drink, Supply & Demand, Product Development

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Chapter 16: Place and Promotion

Coca-Cola Bottler Replaces Plastic Six-Pack Rings

September 30, 2022

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For decades, conservationists have warned drink companies about the dangers of plastic ring packaging commonly used for six-packs of cans. Once these rings find their way into the ocean, they turn into a lethal danger for birds, turtles, and other marine life who can become ensnared in the plastic. In fact, the World Wildlife Federation estimates that plastic products like these kill as many as 100,000 marine animals annually. Drink rings also contribute to the growing global problem of ocean Continue reading →

Coca-Cola, Product Distribution, Food & Drink, Product Development, Promotions, Ethics, Packaging, Manufacturing, Sustainability

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Chapter 16: Place and Promotion

Coca-Cola Plans to Change the Flavor of Coke Zero

July 22, 2021

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In the coming months, regular drinkers of the sugar-free soda brand Coke Zero might notice a slight change in the taste of their favorite beverage. According to company officials, the formula for Coke Zero will be altered in order to “deliver an even more iconic Coke taste.” While this might seem like a relatively harmless change, any alteration to a Coca-Cola product draws plenty of public scrutiny after the company’s disastrous launch of “New Coke” in the 1980s.

Back then, Continue reading →

Product Development, Promotions, Advertising, Marketing, Coca-Cola, Social Media, Product Distribution, Food & Drink

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Chapter 16: Place and Promotion, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

New Coke Returns as Part of Netflix Promotion

June 4, 2019

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In the 1980s Coca-Cola was losing market share to its rival Pepsi at an alarming rate. Blind taste tests performed by Coke even showed that consumers seemed to prefer Pepsi’s sweeter flavor. So in 1985 the Atlanta-based company scrapped its classic formula in favor of a sugary but smooth cola that came to be known as “New Coke.” The change shocked soda lovers across the country, prompting boycotts and letter-writing campaigns that did significant damage to Coke’s brand image. After Continue reading →

Promotions, Netflix, Coca-Cola, Crisis management, Food & Drink, Marketing, Branding

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 16: Place and Promotion

Why Coca-Cola Tastes Better at McDonald’s

October 19, 2018

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Although Americans can buy a Coke just about anywhere, no other place seems to make the soft drink better than McDonald’s. And that’s not an accident: the company has had a special connection with Coca-Cola since the burger chain’s founding in 1955. Back then, McDonald’s boss Ray Kroc struck a handshake deal with a local Coke supplier, establishing a close business relationship that continues to this day. “Those two companies helped each other grow and expand around the globe,” said Continue reading →

Product Development, McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, Product Distribution, Food & Drink, Operations Management

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution

Coca-Cola Launches Hundreds of New Drink Brands

August 23, 2018

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For more than a century, Coca-Cola’s immense branding power has centered on its signature soft drink. But with many of today’s consumers switching from sugary sodas to healthier options, the company can no longer rely on its namesake beverage like it once did. So in order to keep up with changing tastes, last year Coca-Cola launched more than 500 new drink brands across the globe. “There are products out there in the world that perhaps we wouldn’t have tried a Continue reading →

Branding, Coca-Cola, Marketing, Product Distribution, Global, Food & Drink, India, Product Development

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution

[VIDEO] How Coca-Cola’s Bottle Got Its Curves

April 27, 2018

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In the early 20th century, the Coca-Cola Company was quickly growing in popularity both with American consumers as well as imitators who hoped to duplicate the soft drink’s success. This very brief video looks at how Coca-Cola fought off the copycats by designing a distinctive bottle that it still depends on to this day.

Questions:

Besides making things harder for imitators, how did Coca-Cola’s bottle redesign help the young company’s brand?
Do you think Coca-Cola would have grown to be Continue reading →

Packaging, Coca-Cola, Marketing, Food, Product Development, Promotions

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 16: Place and Promotion

Kraft Quietly Retools Its Mac and Cheese

April 26, 2016

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When a company rebrands a popular product, they usually alert the public to the upcoming changes through a widespread marketing campaign. For iconic food and drink brands, however, the process isn’t as straightforward. After all, every marketer remembers what happened when Coca-Cola launched its New Coke brand in the 1990s. Consumers reacted viciously to the soft drink’s revamped recipe, creating a rift with the public that took Coca-Cola years to repair.

Executives at Kraft took horror stories like these to Continue reading →

Packaging, Coca-Cola, Marketing, Kraft, Food, Product Development, Promotions

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Chapter 16: Place and Promotion

Corporations Fill Foreign Aid Void

September 2, 2014

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In the mid-20^th century, many struggling nations around the world relied heavily on outside governments for assistance. Foreign aid of this nature accounted for 71 percent of all worldwide capital flows as recently as 1960. As the years progressed, however, governments largely removed themselves from the global development game. Today, foreign aid accounts for less than 1 percent of the U.S. budget and only 9 percent of current capital flows.

To fill this void, non-governmental organizations and groups such Continue reading →

Coca-Cola, Global, Ethics, Finance, Corporate Social Responsibility, Foreign Aid

Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 10: Motivation, Chapter 15: Distribution, Chapter 16: Place and Promotion