Fun facts about coca cola

Now this just FREAKS me out: There was a competition in Delhi University: "Who can drink the most Coke?". The winner drank 8 bottles and died on the spot because he had too much carbon dioxide in the blood and not enough oxygen. YIKES! If you put a broken tooth in a bottle of Pepsi, in 10 days it will fully dissolves

And We Drink This Stuff? Coca-Cola was first made in the colour green! 2. It used to contain cocaine up until 1905, when it was removed due to public concern. 3. It was originally made to cure hangovers and headaches. 4. In Chinese, the name Coca-Cola means "to make mouth happy". 5. If all the Coca-Cola bottles in the world were stacked end to end, they would reach to theMoon and back more than 1,677 times. 6. In one night, a bottle of Coca-Cola can soften a tooth. 7. Coca-Cola is very good at cleaning up blood spots, and is often used in the States to clean blood of from the roads after an accident! 8. Coca-Cola can be used to remove grease from clothes! It's as simple as emptying a can of coke into a load of greasy clothes, adding the detergent, and run through a regular cycle. 9. A bottle of Coca-Cola has a PH scale of 2.8, and could dissolve a nail in just 4 days 10. Coca-Cola released a 'Diet Coke with Bacon' flavour! 11. Another less known flavour that Coca-Cola released was the "Coca-Cola BlK". This was a coffee flavoured soft drink, released in 2006 in France. Sadly this was short lived, and Coca-Cola discontinued the production in 2008. 12. Coca-Cola even helped create the modern image of Santa

Atul Singh became president of Coca-Cola's India and South West Asia business unit in 2005, when a lot of things were going wrong for the company. Controversy was at its height over allegedly high levels of pesticides in soft drinks; Coca-Cola faced accusations of overexploiting groundwater resources in the state of Kerala; revenues were down from the previous year; and not everything was running smoothly among the subsidiary's senior management team. To boot, archrival Pepsi was gaining ground in the marketplace. Today, the story is different, according to Singh, who joined the company in 1998. "Coca-Cola in India over the past few years has clearly turned the corner Businesses that make up Coca-Cola The Coca-Cola Company is the world's largest beverage company, [offering] more than 500 sparkling and still [non-carbonated] brands. Coca-Cola in India has a diverse portfolio of sparkling beverages including Thums Up, Coca-Cola and Sprite, and still beverages like juice drinks Minute Maid and Maaza, packaged water, tea and coffee. For the first time since it returned to India in 1993, Coca-Cola India is profitable It took 16 years, after re-entering India in 1993, our focus was to settle in and invest in brands, bottling infrastructure and local talent. In a short time, Coca-Cola India became the country's largest soft drink company. In 2005, we did a complete assessment of our business, capability and portfolio and set an ambitious vision for the company in India [called "2020 Vision"]. There were changes in the management team. We focused on what we call the "manifesto for growth" and we aligned our system to six P's -- people, portfolio, partners, profit, planet and productivity. This renewed focus helped Coca-Cola India grow its business in a sustainable manner. Over the past three years, we have made significant progress in building a locally relevant, growth-oriented and profitable business in India. We have delivered consistent growth in the past 13 quarters, with double-digit growth in eight of them and gains in market share across all categories. In fact, in each of the past four quarters, we have recorded more than 30% growth. We have generated revenues by focusing on the fundamentals of the business. Working in close collaboration with our bottling partners, we refocused investments and intensified execution. We continued to invest in marketing initiatives around the quality and safety of our products and focused on bottling. Improvement in our route-to-market [operations] and organizational capabilities also helped.

The Indian market different from other markets -- the U.S., Africa, Eastern Europe and China India is a country of over a billion people with very low per-capita consumption of soft drinks. Physical infrastructure, too, is a challenge in India. An independent study shows that of the 120 billion liters of non-alcoholic beverages consumed in India, only 4% is ready-to-drink. Herein lies the opportunity. With increased urbanization and growth of the middle class, more people are getting introduced to ready-to-drink packaged drinks, which is very encouraging. Strategies and targets for the Indian market Coca-Cola is committed to refreshing its consumers on an everyday, all-day basis. Our entire brand portfolio has been designed to satisfy the various mapped-out needs of consumers -hydration, energy, enjoyment or simply having fun. Over the past few years, we have further expanded our portfolio by launching Minute Maid Pulpy Orange [drink] and, more recently, our globally successful energy-drink brand Burn. Over the past decade, we have invested more than US$1.2 billion in India. In 2006, we announced additional investments of US$250 million over the [following] three years. We are well on track in making those investments in manufacturing, transportation, logistics and cold drink equipment -- such as refrigerators -- and consumer marketing. Coca-Cola India has made sustainability central to its business strategy and practice. As a beverage company, water is the primary ingredient for our products, and we recognize it is a precious natural resource under severe duress. We have set a target of replenishing the groundwater we extract to produce our beverages -- as a company, we want to achieve "water balance" in India in groundwater use. We are actively undertaking rainwater harvesting projects in partnership with government departments, NGOs and local communities across the country. We have already installed more than 500 rainwater-harvesting structures in 22 states. Likewise, as a responsible user of PET [polyethylene terephthalate, a plastic resin] for product packages, we are working with industry associations, other corporations and stakeholders to evolve an end-to-end economic value chain for collecting and recycling them. We are working toward becoming one of India's mostrespected companies. Price war and profitability consequence The Rs. 5 [10-cent] bottle that we introduced was part of an affordability strategy. It helped the entire industry bring more consumers into the ready-to-drink beverage category. But rising input costs made it difficult to sustain that pricing for long and we had to increase prices. As elsewhere in the world, in India we follow an OBPPC [occasion, brand, pack, price and channel] strategy. It is all about selling the right brand, on the right occasion, in the right package, at the right price and in the right channel.

Plans for bottled water and enhanced water brands The company is continuously evaluating its product portfolio to provide consumers with the right beverage solution for every occasion. Our flagship packaged water brand in India, Kinley, has done well in an extremely competitive segment. We plan to strengthen it. Last year, we launched it in more-appealing packaging that has been received well. We are always on the lookout for new opportunities to expand our portfolio. At the appropriate time, we will consider getting into new beverage segments. Coca-Cola has often been the focus of public protests -- accused of exhausting groundwater resources, contaminating groundwater, contributing to climate change and having high levels of pesticides in its drinks, among other issues. In some respects, the company is the public face of "the ugly American." Why is Coke always a target? As one of the world's most valuable brands, Coca-Cola does attract attention from all quarters. We are committed to growing our business sustainably and encourage dialogue with all stakeholders. The endeavor to achieve "water balance" specific to groundwater use is one example. Recognizing the need for climate protection and energy management, we are now placing energy-efficient coolers in the market, which consume up to 35% less energy than traditional coolers. We have also converted our distribution fleet in Delhi from diesel-run vehicles to [compressed natural gas]-based trucks. We have taken several other steps for environment preservation and community development. Coca-Cola is perceived to be a stodgy player in India. The Economic Times says: "While rival Coca-Cola has struggled to connect with Indian consumers, Pepsi has done so with ease -- a fact that is reflected by the success it has had in the marketplace." Coca-Cola in India has clearly turned the corner. Over the last 13 consecutive quarters, we have delivered growth in unit case volume. To quoteET again, in December 2009, it ranked us among the top 10 marketing companies in India.

HISTORY AND NEW PLANS

Indias love for sweet things doesnt stop at sugary snacks and desserts. Fizzy drinks have been Favorites ever since Coca-Cola first arrived in the 1970s. While government regulations forced the company to leave India in 1977, it returned in 1993. Since then the country has seen the emergence and success of local cola brands. Today, carbonated drinks are a staple for every local street vendor. Seeking to build on this popularity, Coca-Cola has now announced plans to invest up to Rs5.5bn ($121m) in a new plant in south India, as it looks expand further in what is one of the worlds fastest-growing beverage markets. The journey hasnt been easy for Coca-Cola. In 2003 the company was faced with full and partial bans in many Indian states after the government raised alarm over pesticides and other harmful chemicals found in Coca-Colas Indian bottled drinks products. As a result, the companys total 2003 sales dropped 15 per cent from the prior year. But staying the course has proven to be worthwhile, and the company today holds a 60 per cent share of the carbonated drinks market of which 50 per cent is fizzy cola. Its little surprise then that Coca-Cola, which has already invested more than $1bn in its Indian operations, is building a new factory in the state of Karnataka. The creation of one of the drink makers largest manufacturing facilities in India will help Coca-Cola build up its future presence in the Indian market and allow it to better compete with rival Pepsico. But the fizzy drinks company may have more problems to contend in the future. This years incessant and prolonged rains in India have severely dampened sales for drinks companies. Many over the last three weeks have had to halt production due to the lack of demand and over supply, a stark difference to this time last year when demand was exceptionally high. Sales for beverage majors such as Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, which have been growing at a healthy 20-25 per cent over the past eight to ten quarters, are down to single digits now. As temperatures stood at scorching 52 year highs between April to June this year, many beverage makers significantly increased their manufacturing capacities hoping that they would witness a healthy double-digit growth in the September quarter too. But its the long term that Coca-Cola is interested in, not seasonal drawbacks of the Indian beverage market. The company which manufactures and sells popular carbonated and noncarbonated beverages such as Coca Cola, Thums Up and Limca, is looking to expand sales in emerging markets such as China, India and Russia. Earlier this month, Coca Cola expanded its presence in Russia through the acquisition of Nidan, the fourth largest juice manufacturing company in Russia We want to ensure that we create adequate capacity to meet the projected growth in the packaged beverage market over the coming years, said T. Krishnakumar, chief executive officer of the new unit in the state of Karnataka, where there are two bottling plants already. Coca-Cola also has 23 company-owned bottling facilities, 22 franchise-owned plants and 11 contract packing units in India. The new plant will produce sparkling beverages, including Coca-Colas carbonated-drinks, as well as still beverages such as Kinley water and Maaza mango-based drink.

As the rain in Delhi keeps pouring down, one cant help but wonder if Indias extended monsoon might take a little fizz out of Coca-Colas drink.

SWOT Analysis: SWOT stands for Strengths Weakness Opportunities Threats. SWOT analysis is a technique much used in many general management as well as marketing scenarios. SWOT consists of examining the current activities of the organisation- its Strengths and Weakness- and then using this and external research data to set out the Opportunities and Threats that exist.

Strengths: Coca-Cola has been a complex part of world culture for a very long time. The product's image is loaded with over-romanticizing, and this is an image many people have taken deeply to heart. The Coca-Cola image is displayed on T-shirts, hats, and collectible memorabilia. This extremely recognizable branding is one of Coca-Cola's greatest strengths. "Enjoyed more than 685 million times a day around the world Coca-Cola stands as a simple, yet powerful symbol of quality and enjoyment" (Allen, 1995). Additionally, Coca-Cola's bottling system is one of their greatest strengths. It allows them to conduct business on a global scale while at the same time maintain a local approach. The bottling companies are locally owned and operated by independent business people who are authorized to sell products of the Coca-Cola Company. Because Coke does not have outright ownership of its bottling network, its main source of revenue is the sale of concentrate to its bottlers. Weaknesses: Weaknesses for any business need to be both minimised and monitored in order to effectively achieve productivity and efficiency in their businesss activities, Coke is no exception. Although domestic business as well as many international markets are thriving (volumes in Latin America were up 12%), Coca-Cola has recently reported some "declines in unit case volumes in Indonesia and Thailand due to reduced consumer purchasing power." According to an article in Fortune magazine, "In Japan, unit case sales fell 3% in the second quarter [of 1998]...scary because while Japan generates around 5% of worldwide volume, it contributes three times as much to profits. Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Japan account for about 35% of Coke's volume and none of these markets are performing to expectation. Coca-Cola on the other side has effects on the teeth which is an issue for health care. It also has got sugar by which continuous drinking of Coca-Cola may cause health problems. Being addicted to Coca-Cola also is a health problem, because drinking of Coca-Cola daily has an effect on your body after few years. Opportunities: Brand recognition is the significant factor affecting Coke's competitive position. Coca-Cola's brand name is known well throughout 94% of the world today. The primary concern over the

past few years has been to get this name brand to be even better known. Packaging changes have also affected sales and industry positioning, but in general, the public has tended not to be affected by new products. Coca-Cola's bottling system also allows the company to take advantage of infinite growth opportunities around the world. This strategy gives Coke the opportunity to service a large geographic, diverse area. Threats: Currently, the threat of new viable competitors in the carbonated soft drink industry is not very substantial. The threat of substitutes, however, is a very real threat. The soft drink industry is very strong, but consumers are not necessarily married to it. Possible substitutes that continuously put pressure on both Pepsi and Coke include tea, coffee, juices, milk, and hot chocolate. Even though Coca-Cola and Pepsi control nearly 40% of the entire beverage market, the changing health-consciousness of the market could have a serious affect. Of course, both Coke and Pepsi have already diversified into these markets, allowing them to have further significant market shares and offset any losses incurred due to fluctuations in the market. Consumer buying power also represents a key threat in the industry. The rivalry between Pepsi and Coke has produce a very slow moving industry in which management must continuously respond to the changing attitudes and demands of their consumers or face losing market share to the competition. Furthermore, consumers can easily switch to other beverages with little cost or consequence. Product Life cycle: When referring to each and every product or service ever placed before the consumer i.e. in the long term all the existing products and services are dead. To be able to market its product properly, a business must be aware of the product life cycle of its product. The standard product life cycle tends to have five phases: Development, Introduction, Growth, Maturity and Decline. Coca-Cola is currently in the maturity stage, which is evidenced primarily by the fact that they have a large, loyal group of stable customers. Furthermore, cost management, product differentiation and marketing have become more important as growth slows and market share becomes the key determinant of profitability. In foreign markets the product life cycle is in more of a growth trend Coke's advantage in this area is mainly due to its establishment strong branding and it is now able to use this area of stable profitability to subsidize the domestic Cola Wars.

Selecting Target Market

Once the situation analysis is complete, and the marketing objectives determined, attention turns to the target market. The soft drink market is very large, and the business cannot be all things to all people, so it must choose which market segments have the greatest potential. The target market is the group of customers on whom the business focuses attention. The target market is where Coca Cola focuses its marketing efforts as it feels this is where it will be most productive and successful. The target market for Coca cola is very wide as it satisfys the needs for many different consumers, ranging from the healthy diet consciousness through Diet Coke to the average human through its best selling drink regular Coke. Most Coke products satisfy all age groups as it is proven that most people of different age groups consume the Coca Cola product. This market is relatively large and is open to both genders, thereby allowing greater product diversification. There are four broad ways which Coca Cola can segment its market: -> Mass marketing -> Concentrated marketing -> Differentiated marketing -> Niche marketing The most apparent method used by Coca Cola is with no doubt the differentiated marketing method as Coke satisfys a range of different markets. Diet coke satisfys the weight consciousness, regular coke, sprite, fanta the average human, coffee, iced tea etc. Each group of beverages satisfy a particular group of people but majority the average human.

Developing The Marketing Mix

The marketing mix is probably the most crucial stage of the marketing planning process. This is where the marketing tactics for each product are determined. The marketing mix refers to the combination of the four factors(price, promotion, product, place) that make up the core of a businesss marketing strategy. In this step of the marketing planning process, marketing mix must be designed to satisfy the wants of target markets and achieve the marketing objectives. The most successful businesses have continually monitored and changed their marketing mix due to respective internal and external factors and have monitored the external business environment in order to maximise their marketing mix components.

Product Many Products are physical objects that you can own and take home. But the word product

means much more than just physical goods. In marketing, product also refers to services, such as holidays or a movie, where you enjoy the benefits without owning the result of the service. Businesses must think about products on three different levels, which are the core product, the actual product and the augmented product. The core product is what the consumer is actually buying and the benefits it gives. Coca Cola customers are buying a wide range of soft drinks. The actual product is the parts and features, which deliver the core product. Consumers will buy the coke product because of the high standards and high quality of the Coca Cola products. The augmented product is the extra consumer benefits and services provided to customers. Since soft drinks are a consumable good, the augmented level is very limited. But Coca Cola do offer a help line and complaint phone service for customers who are not satisfied with the product or wish to give feedback on the products.

Positioning Once a business has decided which segments of the market it will compete in, developed a clear picture of its target market and defined its product, the positioning strategy can be developed. Positioning is the process of creating, the image the product holds in the mind of consumers, relative to competing products. Coca Cola and Franklins both make soft drinks, although Franklins may try to compete they will still be seen as down market from Coca Cola. Positioning helps customers understand what is unique about the products when compared with the competition. Coca Cola plan to further create positions that will give their products the greatest advantage in their target markets. Coca Cola has been positioned based on the process of positioning by direct comparison and have positioned their products to benefit their target market. Most people create an image of a product by comparing it to another product, thus evident through the famous battles between Coca-Cola and Pepsi products. Branding It is often hard to say exactly why we buy one companys product over another. Companies such as Nike and Adidas spend large amounts of money trying to win consumers away from their competitors who make products that are very similar. The popularity of the brand is often the deciding factor. Over the time Coca Cola has spent millions of dollars developing and promoting their brand name, resulting in world wide recognition. 'Coca-Cola' is the most recognised trademark, recognised by 94% of the world's population and is the most widely recognised word after "OK". Coca Colas red and white colours and special writing are all examples of worldwide trademarks. There are a number of branding strategies: Generic brand strategy, Individual brand strategy, Family brand strategy, Manufacturers brand strategy, Private brand strategy and Hybrid brand strategy. Coca Cola utilizes the Individual brand strategy as Coca Colas major products are given their own brand names e.g Fanta, Sprite, Coca Cola etc although they maybe presented as different lines they operate under the name of Coca Cola. Packaging

Packaging, which is not as highly perceived by businesses, is still an important factor to examine in the marketing mix. Packaging protects the product during transportation, while it sits in the shelf and during use by consumers, it promotes the product and distinguishes it from the competition. Packaging can allow the business to design promotional schemes, which can generate extra revenue and advertisements. Coca-Cola has benefited from packaging the product with incentives and endorsements on the labelling as a promotional strategy to increase its volume of sales and revenue.

Price Price is a very important part of the marketing mix as it can effect both the supply and demand for Coca Cola. The price of Coca Colas products is one of the most important factors in a customers decision to buy. Price will often be the difference that will push a customer to buy our product over another, as long as most things are fairly similar. For this reason pricing policies need to be designed with consumers and external influences in mind, in order to effectively achieve a stable balance between sales and covering the production costs. Price strategies are important to Coca Cola because the price determines the amount of sales and profit per unit sold. Businesses have to set a price that is attractive to their customers and provides the business with a good level of profit. Long before a sale was ever made Coca Cola had developed a forecast of consumer demand at different prices which inevitably determined whether or not the product came on the market, as well as the allocation of adequate money and resources to produce, promote and distribute the product. Pricing Strategies And Tactics The pricing Strategy a business will use will have to focus on achieving the marketing plans objectives and support the positioning of the product, and take external factors such as economic conditions and competitors in to account. There are 5 strategies available to business: Market skimming pricing, Penetration pricing, Loss leaders, Price Points and Discounts. Over the years Coca Cola has used Penetration Pricing as a way of grabbing a foothold in the market and won a market share. Its product penetrated the marketplace. Once customer loyalty is established as seen with Coca Cola it is then able to slowly raise the price of its product. There has been a fierce pricing rivalry between Coca Cola and Pepsi products as each company competes for customer recognition and satisfaction. Till now it appears as if Coke has come up on top, although in order to gain long term profits Coke had to sacrifise short term profits where in some cases it either went under of just broke even, but as seen it has been all for the best. Pricing Methods Good pricing decisions are based on an analysis of what target customers expect to pay, and what they perceive as good quality. If the price is too high, consumers will spend their money on other goods and services. If the price is too low, the firm can lose money and go out of business. Pricing methods include: Cost based Pricing, Market based pricing and Competition based Pricing. Over the years Coca has lost ground here in its pricing but has regained its strength as it employed the Competition-based pricing method which allowed it to compete more effectively in the soft drink market. Leader follower pricing occurs when there is one quite powerful

business in the market which is thought to be the market leader. The business will tend to have a larger market share, loyal customers and some technological edge, thus the case currently with Coke, it was first the follower but through effective management has now become the leader of the market and is working towards achieving the marketing objectives of the Coca Cola. Survival in the market place, own 60 % of market share by 2007, increase further awareness of product and a return on 20% on capital employed for August 2007. Promotion In todays competitive environment , having the right product at the right place in the right place at the right time may still not be enough to be successful. Effective communication with the target market is essential for the success of the product and business. Promotion is the p of the marketing mix designed to inform the marketplace about who you are, how good your product is and where they can buy it. Promotion is also used to persuade the customers to try a new product, or buy more of an old product. The promotional mix is the combination of personal selling, advertising, sales promotion and public relations that it uses in its marketing plan. Above the line promotions refers to mainstream media:Advertising through common media such as television, radio, transport, and billboards and in newspapers and magazines. Because most of the target is most likely to be exposed to media such as television, radio and magazines, Coca Cola has used this as the main form of promotion for extensive range of products. Although advertising is usually very expensive, it is the most effective way of reminding and exposing potential customers to Coca Cola Products. Coca Cola also utilizes below the line promotions such as contests, coupons, and free samples. These activities are an effective way of getting people to give your product a go.

Place and Distribution The place P of the marketing mix refers to distribution of the product- the ways of getting the product to the market.The distribution of products starts with the producer and ends with the consumer. One key element of the Place/Distribution aspect is the respective distribution channels that Coca Cola has elected to transport and sell its product. Selecting the most appropriate distribution channel is important, as the choice will determine sales levels and costs. The choice for a distribution channel for any business depends on numerous factors, these include: How far away the customers are; The type of product being transported; The lead times required; and; The costs associated with transport; There are four types of distribution strategies that Coca Cola could have chosen from, these are: intensive, selective, exclusive and direct distribution. It is apparent from the popularity of the Coca Colas product on the market that the business in the past used the method of intensive

distribution as the product is available at every possible outlet. From supermarkets to service stations to your local corner shop, anywhere you go you will find the Coca Cola products