Coca Cola Co. Case Study

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Introduction and History

Coca Cola CO (KO) is a brand that is recognized worldwide. Coca Cola was invented by a pharmacist, Dr. John Pemberton in Atlanta, Georgia in 1886 who was making his concoction in the rear of the pharmacy in a three legged kettle. The soft drink was first sold at the soda fountain in Jacob’s Pharmacy in Atlanta. The total first year sales of about fifty dollars but the  cost of making the product for that year was approximately seventy dollars. The marketing of Coca Cola was as “tonic” which contained a small amount of cocaine extract and the caffeine rich kola nut was not very successful as people thought of it a medicinal and not a refreshing drink (Bellis, 2017). Coca Cola was purchased by another pharmacist Asa Chandler for only$2300.00. Asa Chandler marketed the soda through newspaper ads in the Atlanta paper. Chandler increased sales of the soda by over 4000% between 1890 and 1900 (Bellis, 2017). The Coca Cola Company (KO) was incorporated on September 5, 1919(Coca-Cola Co (KO), 2018). The Coca Cola Company sales are sparkling beverages, sports drinks, water, flavored water, enhanced water, juice, juice based drinks, bottled teas and coffee, milks, and energy drinks (Coca-Cola Co (KO), 2018). According to the information provided by the Reuters article, the company owns over five-hundred different beverage brands and distributes the its beverage bases(syrups) to independent bottlers in over two hundred countries worldwide (Coca-Cola Co (KO), 2018).

Stakeholders

“Stakeholders are individuals, companies, groups, and even governments and their subsystems that cause and respond to external issues, opportunities, and threats” (Weiss, 2014). Coca Cola is committed to stakeholder engagement as a major component of both their business and sustainability strategy (The Coca-Cola Company, 2018).  The Coca Cola Company states that keeping stakeholders engaged in an ongoing exchange of ideas helps the company to continuously improve.  The company interacts with its stakeholders in a variety of both informal and formal means.  The engagements span not only meetings with local, regional and national assemblies and include continuous interchanges with the bottlers, suppliers and consumers (The Coca-Cola Company, 2018).  Coca Cola states that the world is ever changing and to continue to thrive and grow the company must always look ahead to the future. (Mission, vision and values, 2018). “The Coca Cola Company Mission statements are -to refresh the world in mind, body and spirit, to inspire moments of optimism and happiness through our brands and actions, to create value and make a difference.

        Bottling partners- Coca Cola engages with its bottling partners on a daily basis. Ventures include combined business projects, strategic planning, meetings of the Top-to-Top senior management, and the Global Environmental Council in order for every bottler associated with Coca Cola to comply with different regional regulations. Consumers- engagement through research, hotlines, websites, facility tours, social media, surveys, and focus group feedback. Customers- engagement occurs through regular visits to gain feedback, dedicated account managers and teams, joint planning, and collaborative creative innovation. Communities: “community meetings, plant visits, partnerships on common issues, sponsorships, lectures at universities” (The Coca-Cola Company, 2018).Employees- this group of stakeholders is often overlooked. The employees of the company need to be recognized as an integral part of the company. Coca Cola engages its employees as stakeholders by having “individual development plans, health and safety communications programs, community and employee well-being projects, and an ethics hotline “ (The Coca-Cola Company, 2018). Governments and regulatory authorities- Coca Cola has not only local investment councils but foreign investment advisory councils, non-regulated governmental organizations in countries in which they do business.  Coca Cola believes in investing in being sustainable and being good stewards of the earth. “By 2030, every bottle or can the Coca-Cola system sells globally, the goal is to help take one back so it has more than one life. The Company is investing its marketing dollars and skills behind this 100% collection goal to help people understand what, how and where to recycle (The Coca Cola Company, 2018). Shareowners and analysts- Coca Cola engages its shareholders with quarterly earnings reports, an annual meeting, ongoing dialogue, and investor presentations and webcasts. Coca Cola applies its Golden Triangle which is a partnership of business, government and civil society (The Coca-Cola Company, 2018). The Coca Cola Company recognizes that a collaborative partnership is key to success of the company.