Coca Cola Stock

Company strategy and future

Over the years Coca-Cola has had to adapt and restrategise due to different factors, such as new regulations, changing health trends, new policies aimed at being sustainable & environmentally friendly and criticism.

The most notable incident is when Cristiano Ronaldo, the star of the Portuguese national football team, caused a stir at a press conference after a Euro 2021 match against Hungary by pushing aside two Coca-Cola bottles that were in front of him. He held up a bottle of water and said, "água", meaning water. "Coca-Cola, bah," said Ronaldo. This was embarrassing for Coca-Cola, a major sponsor of the European Championship. But the footballer is not the only one with a dislike for soft drinks. Due to current health trends, sugary drinks have lost significant popularity.

Currently, many countries are implementing a sugar tax on soft drinks due to the link between sugar and obesity. This is impacting the sales of traditional carbonated beverages. Sales volumes of these types of drinks have been declining in the domestic US market for years. As a result, Coca-Cola is focusing on diversifying its beverage portfolio with healthier, sugar-free soft drinks and sports drinks.

The company is also entering new adjacent segments, such as coffee and alcoholic beverages. In 2018, Coca-Cola acquired the British company Costa Coffee for £3.9 billion. After Starbucks, Costa Coffee is the second-largest coffee chain in the world. Coca-Cola has also introduced a new beverage made with carbonated water, alcohol and natural flavours called Topo Chico Hard Seltzer. It is Coca-Cola's first alcoholic drink in a few of its main marketplaces.

In November 2021, Coca-Cola acquired the sports drink brand BODYARMOR. With a price tag of $5.6 billion, this is the company's most expensive acquisition ever. Coca-Cola was already active in the sports drink market with Powerade but lagged behind PepsiCo's Gatorade. Gatorade holds a leading position in the global sports drink market with a market share of 68%. After the acquisition of BODYARMOR, Coca-Cola controls about a quarter of this growing market.

History of Coca-Cola

The inventor of Coca-Cola is Dr. John Styth Pemberton, a pharmacist from Atlanta. In May 1886, he produced a caramel-coloured syrup. Later, a colleague mixed it with carbonated water, giving birth to the iconic, fizzy beverage, Coca-Cola. Frank M. Robinson, Pemberton's bookkeeper, came up with the name and logo. The start of the company was not so successful. In the first year, on average, only nine glasses were sold per day at a price of $0.05 each. Pemberton was unaware of the potential of his invention and gradually sold his rights to businessman Asa Candler for $2,300 in the following years. In 1892, Candler founded The Coca-Cola Company. Bottled Coca-Cola became available two years later in 1894. In 1915, the iconic Coca-Cola contour bottle was designed, propelling the company's growth.

Candler devised a clever distribution system to sell Coca-Cola throughout the US. He granted the concentrate to local partners, allowing them to bottle and sell the beverage themselves. The franchise formula created a strong network of local and regional bottlers, helping Coca-Cola conquer the US. Candler sold his stake in The Coca-Cola Company in 1919 for $25 million to businessman Ernest Woodruff. Under the leadership of his son, Bob Woodruff, Coca-Cola experienced rapid international expansion in the 20th century and grew to become the world's largest soft drink producer. In addition to Coca-Cola, The Coca-Cola Company owns Sprite, Fanta, Minute Maid, Powerade and numerous other beverage brands.