Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in the stores, restaurants, and
vending machines of more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola
Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke (a
registered trademark of The Coca-Cola Company in the United States since March
27, 1944). Originally intended as a patent medicine when it was invented in the
late 19th century by John Pemberton, Coca-Cola was bought out by businessman
Asa Griggs Candler, whose marketing tactics led Coke to its dominance of the
world soft-drink market throughout the 20th century.
The company produces concentrate, which is then sold to licensed Coca-
Cola bottlers throughout the world. The bottlers, who hold territorially exclusive
contracts with the company, produce finished product in cans and bottles from
the concentrate in combination with filtered water and sweeteners. The bottlers
then sell, distribute and merchandise Coca-Cola to retail stores and vending
machines. Such bottlers include Coca-Cola Enterprises, which is the largest single
Coca-Cola bottler in North America and western Europe. The Coca-Cola
Company also sells concentrate for soda fountains to major restaurants and food
service distributors.
The Coca-Cola Company has, on occasion, introduced other cola drinks
under the Coke brand name. The most common of these is Diet Coke, with others
including Caffeine-Free Coca-Cola, Diet Coke Caffeine-Free, Coca-Cola Cherry,
Coca-Cola Zero, Coca-Cola Vanilla, and special editions with lemon, lime or coffee.
In response to consumer insistence on a more natural product, the
company is in the process of phasing out E211, or sodium benzoate, the
controversial additive used in Diet Coke and linked to DNA damage in yeast cells
and hyperactivity in children. The company has stated that it plans to remove
E211 from its other products, including Sprite and Oasis, as soon as a satisfactory
alternative is found.
Use of stimulants in formula
When launched Coca-Cola's two key ingredients were cocaine
(benzoylmethyl ecgonine) and caffeine. The cocaine was derived from the
coca leaf and the caffeine from kola nut, leading to the name Coca-Cola
(the "K" in Kola was replaced with a "C" for marketing purposes).
Production
Ingredients
Carbonated water
Sugar (sucrose or high-fructose corn syrup depending on country of origin)
Caffeine
Phosphoric acid v. Caramel (E150d)
Natural flavorings
A can of Coke (12 fl ounces/355 ml) has 39 grams of carbohydrates (all from
sugar, approximately 10 teaspoons), 50 mg of sodium, 0 grams fat, 0 grams
potassium, and 140 calories.
Formula of natural flavorings
The exact formula of Coca-Cola's natural flavorings (but not its other
ingredients which are listed on the side of the bottle or can) is a trade secret. The
original copy of the formula is held in SunTrust Bank's main vault in Atlanta.
Franchised production model
The actual production and distribution of Coca-Cola follows a franchising
model. The Coca-Cola Company only produces a syrup concentrate, which it sells
to bottlers throughout the world, who hold Coca-Cola franchises for one or more
geographical areas. The bottlers produce the final drink by mixing the syrup with
filtered water and sweeteners, and then carbonate it before putting it in cans and
bottles, which the bottlers then sell and distribute to retail stores, vending
machines, restaurants and food service distributors.
The Coca-Cola Company owns minority shares in some of its largest
franchises, like Coca-Cola Enterprises, Coca-Cola Amatil, Coca-Cola Hellenic
Bottling Company (CCHBC) and Coca-Cola FEMSA, but fully independent bottlers
produce almost half of the volume sold in the world. Independent bottlers are
allowed to sweeten the drink according to local tastes.
The bottling plant in Skopje, Macedonia, received the 2009 award for "Best
Bottling Company".
Local competitors
Pepsi is usually second to Coke in sales, but outsells Coca-Cola in some
markets. Around the world, some local brands compete with Coke. In South
and Central America Kola Real, known as Big Cola in Mexico, is a fast-growing
competitor to Coca-Cola. On the French island of Corsica, Corsica Cola, made by
brewers of the local Pietra beer, is a growing competitor to Coca-Cola. In the
French region of Brittany, Breizh Cola is available. In Peru, Inca Kola outsells Coca-
Cola, which led The Coca-Cola Company to purchase the brand in 1999. In
Sweden, Julmust outsells Coca-Cola during the Christmas season. In Scotland, the
locally produced Irn-Bru was more popular than Coca-Cola until 2005, when Coca-
Cola and Diet Coke began to outpace its sales. In India, Coca-Cola ranked third
behind the leader, Pepsi-Cola, and local drink Thums Up. The Coca-Cola
Company purchased Thums Up in 1993. As of 2004, Coca-Cola held a 60.9%
market-share in India. Tropicola, a domestic drink, is served in Cuba instead of
Coca-Cola, due to a United States embargo. French brand Mecca Cola and British
brand Qibla Cola, popular in the Middle East, are competitors to Coca-Cola. In
Turkey, Cola Turka is a major competitor to Coca-Cola. In Iran and many countries
of Middle East, Zam Zam Cola and Parsi Cola are major competitors to Coca-Cola.
In some parts of China Future cola is a competitor. In Slovenia, the locally
produced Cockta is a major competitor to Coca-Cola, as is the inexpensive
Mercator Cola, which is sold only in the country's biggest supermarket chain,
Mercator. In Israel, RC Cola is an inexpensive competitor. Classiko Cola, made by
Tiko Group, the largest manufacturing company in Madagascar, is a serious
competitor to Coca-Cola in many regions. Laranjada is the top-selling soft drink on
the Portuguese island of Madeira. Coca-Cola has stated that Pepsi was not its
main rival in the UK, but rather Robinsons drinks.
Advertising
Coca-Cola's advertising has significantly affected American culture, and it
is frequently credited with inventing the modern image of Santa Claus as an old
man in a red-and-white suit. Although the company did start using the red-and-
white Santa image in the 1930s, with its winter advertising campaigns illustrated
by Haddon Sundblom, the motif was already common Before Santa Claus, Coca-
Cola relied on images of smartly dressed young women to sell its beverages. Coca-
Cola's first such advertisement appeared in 1895, featuring the young Bostonian
actress Hilda Clark as its spokeswoman.
1941 saw the first use of the nickname "Coke" as an official trademark for
the product, with a series of advertisements informing consumers that "Coke
means Coca-Cola". In 1971 a song from a Coca-Cola commercial called "I'd Like to
Teach the World to Sing", produced by Billy Davis, became a hit single.
Some of the memorable Coca-Cola television commercials between 1960
through 1986 were written and produced by former Atlanta radio veteran Don
Naylor (WGST 1936–1950, WAGA 1951–1959) during his career as a producer for
the McCann Erickson advertising agency. Many of these early television
commercials for Coca-Cola featured movie stars, sports heroes and popular
singers.
During the 1980s, Pepsi-Cola ran a series of television advertisements
showing people participating in taste tests demonstrating that, according to the
commercials, "fifty percent of the participants who said they preferred Coke
actually chose the Pepsi." Statisticians were quick to point out the problematic
nature of a 50/50 result: most likely, all the taste tests really showed was that in
blind tests, most people simply cannot tell the difference between Pepsi and
Coke. Coca-Cola ran ads to combat Pepsi's ads in an incident sometimes referred
to as the cola wars; one of Coke's ads compared the so-called Pepsi challenge to
two chimpanzees deciding which tennis ball was furrier. Thereafter, Coca-Cola
regained its leadership in the market.
Selena was a spokesperson for Coca-Cola from 1989 till the time of her
death. She filmed three commercials for the company. In 1994, to commemorate
her five years with the company, Coca-Cola issued special Selena coke bottles.
Coca-Cola has gone through a number of different advertising slogans in its
long history, including "The pause that refreshes," I'd like to buy the world a
Coke," and "Coke is it" .
Sports sponsorship
Coca-Cola was the first commercial sponsor of the Olympic games, at the
1928 games in Amsterdam, and has been an Olympics sponsor ever since. This
corporate sponsorship included the 1996 Summer Olympics hosted in Atlanta,
which allowed Coca-Cola to spotlight its hometown.
Since 1978, Coca-Cola has sponsored each FIFA World Cup, and other
competitions organised by FIFA.
Coca-Cola was one of the official sponsors of the 1996 Cricket World Cup
held on the Indian subcontinent. Coca Cola is also one of the associate sponsors
of Delhi Daredevils in Indian Premier League.
In England, Coca-Cola is the main sponsor of The Football League.
Health effects
Since studies indicate "soda and sweetened drinks are the main source of
calories in [the] American diet", most nutritionists advise that Coca-Cola and
other soft drinks can be harmful if consumed excessively, particularly to young
children whose soft drink consumption competes with, rather than complements,
a balanced diet. Studies have shown that regular soft drink users have a lower
intake of calcium, magnesium, ascorbic acid, riboflavin, and vitamin A. The drink
has also aroused criticism for its use of caffeine, which can cause physical
dependence. A link has been shown between long-term regular cola intake and
osteoporosis in older women (but not men). This was thought to be due to the
presence of phosphoric acid, and the risk was found to be same for caffeinated
and noncaffeinated colas, as well as the same for diet and sugared colas.
Since 1980 in the U.S., Coke has been made with high-fructose corn syrup
(HFCS) as an ingredient. Originally it was used in combination with more
expensive cane-sugar, but by late 1984 the formulation was sweetened entirely
with HFCS. Some nutritionists caution against consumption of HFCS because it
may aggravate obesity and type-2 diabetes more than cane sugar. Also, a 2009
study found that almost half of tested samples of commercial HFCS contained
mercury, a toxic substance.
In India, there is a major controversy whether there are pesticides and
other harmful chemicals in bottled products, including Coca-Cola. In 2003 the
Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), a non-governmental organization in
New Delhi, said aerated waters produced by soft drinks manufacturers in India,
including multinational giants PepsiCo and Coca-Cola, contained toxins including
lindane, DDT, malathion and chlorpyrifos — pesticides that can contribute to
cancer and a breakdown of the immune system.
CSE found that the Indian produced Pepsi's soft drink products had 36
times the level of pesticide residues permitted under European Union
regulations; Coca-Cola's soft drink was found to have 30 times the permitted
amount. CSE said it had tested the same products sold in the U.S. and found no
such residues. After the pesticide allegations were made in 2003, Coca-Cola sales
in India declined by 15 percent.
In 2004 an Indian parliamentary committee backed up CSE's findings and
a government-appointed committee was tasked with developing the world's
first pesticide standards for soft drinks. The Coca-Cola Company has responded
that its plants filter water to remove potential contaminants and that its products
are tested for pesticides and must meet minimum health standards before they
are distributed. In the Indian state of Kerala sale and production of Coca-Cola,
along with other soft drinks, was initially banned after the allegations, until the
High Court in Kerala overturned ruled that only the federal government can ban
food products. Coca-Cola has also been accused of excessive water usage in
India.
Use as political and corporate
symbol
The Coca-Cola drink has a high degree of identification with the United
States, being considered by some an "American Brand" or as an item representing
America. The identification with the spread of American culture has led to the pun
"Coca-Colanization".
There are some consumer boycotts of Coca-Cola in Arab countries due to
Coke's early investment in Israel during the Arab League boycott of Israel (its
competitor Pepsi stayed out of Israel). Mecca Cola and Pepsi have been successful
alternatives in the Middle East.
Acquisitions
The company's recent attempt to buy a Chinese juice maker was foiled
when China rejected its $4.2 billion bid for the Huiyuan Juice Group on the
grounds that it would be a virtual monopoly. Nationalism was also thought to be a
reason for aborting the deal
However, the company has a long history of acquisitions. Coca-Cola
acquired Minute Maid in 1960. Coca-Cola acquired the Indian cola brand Thums
Up in 1993. it acquired Barq's in 1995.In 2001, it acquired the Odwalla brand of
fruit juices, smoothies and bars for $181 million. In 2007, it acquired Fuze
Beverage from founder Lance Collins and Castanea Partners for an estimated
$250 million.
Revenue
According to the 2005 Annual Report,the company sells beverage products
in more than 200 countries. The report further states that of the more than 50
billion beverage servings of all types consumed worldwide every day, beverages
bearing the trademarks owned by or licensed to Coca-Cola account for
approximately 1.5 billion (the latest figure in 2010 shows that now they serve
1.6 billion drinks everyday). Of these, beverages bearing the trademark "Coca-
Cola" or "Coke" accounted for approximately 78% of the Company's total gallon
sales.
Also according to the 2007 Annual Report, Coca-Cola had gallon sales
distributed as follows:
42% in the United States
37% in Mexico,India, Brazil, Japan and the People's Republic of China
20% spread throughout the rest of the world
In 2010 it was announced that Coca-Cola had become the first brand to top £1
billion in annual UK grocery sales .
