Coca Cola, world’s largest beverage company is omnipresent and you cannot get away from the ubiquitous drink that is loved by billions across the world. Here is what you should know about Coca Cola –
10 Key Things about Coca Cola
1. Coca Cola is available practically in every country of the world making its presence in over 200 countries and serving more than 1.8 billion beverage servings everyday! Having started out as a medicine, this iconic carbonated drink was developed 130 years ago in 1886 by John Pemberton. Today, it is also known as Coke and the company is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
2. Coca Cola company has more than 20 billion dollar brands in its portfolio and a total of 500 plus beverage brands across different categories like sparkling drinks, Juice drinks, Ready to Drink Coffee, Energy Drinks, Water and Ready to Drink Tea. Some of the iconic brands that can be recognized are Sprite, Fanta, Diet Coke, Coca Cola Zero, Coca Cola Life, Minute Maid, Fresca, Fuze, Burn, Honest Tea, Del Valle, Glacial Vitamin Water, Ciel, Georgia, Powerade and Mello Yello.
3. The company did sales of USD 43.65B in FY15 with a net income of USD 7.35B in FY15. Its earnings per share are USD 1.69 in FY15 and share price is USD 45.20 as on March 12th 2016. It is the No.1 product in its category of sparkling carbonated drinks, Juice Drinks and Ready to Drink Coffee. It has also given out USD 5.7 as dividends in FY15 and has been consistently increasing annual dividends for 54 years!
4. Coca Cola was ranked fourth on the World’s Most Valuable Brands by Forbes and the World’s Leading Beverage Company. Its brand value in 2015 was USD 56B with a brand revenue of USD 23.1B. The company is currently running the ‘Share a Coke’ campaign, a global marketing initiative to reach out to millennials. 94% people worldwide recognize the white and red logo of Coca Cola and the global giant is working to showcase itself as a responsible company.
5. Coca Cola is a consumer centric company and has been actively present on social media. It sets a world record for the ‘World’s Largest Cheer’ when Twitter users could use the special emoticon of a pair of clinking bottles when using the #shareacoke. It is the first brand to partner with Twitter on such a project. The company has 556,672 followers on Twitter, 1,023,794 followers of Facebook, 781,921 followers on LinkedIn and has had more than 5,126,036 views on YouTube.
6. Music and Coca Cola have gone hand in hand since the beginning of the brand. In the 60’s and 70’s iconic singers and band have featured in the Coca Cola ads. In 2016, the company launched their new brand song ‘Taste the Feeling’ with Avicii and Conrad Sewell. It has also produced unique music show called Coke Studio in Pakistan and India, which became hugely popular. It also started a unique project in UK with Blippar – an augmented reality app for mobile phones. Customers can scan the image on a bottle and they would get 5 free happy songs.
7. Not only with music, but Coca Cola has also been synonymous with sports. From sponsoring athletes to teams and events, Coca Cola has always been present on the field. It has been associated with Olympic Games, Special Olympic Games and in fact, was the first commercial sponsor of Olympic Games in 1928 Amsterdam games. It has also sponsored FIFA World Cup, NASCAR, Major League Baseball, National Football League and National Basketball Association in USA. It has also partnered for Cricket World Cups as well the Indian Premier League.
8. The beverages are made with a concentrate with a secret recipe which the company produces and then sells to licensed Coca Cola bottlers across the world. There are more than 250 bottling partners – who hold exclusive territory contracts with the company – then produce the finished product with added sweeteners and filtered water. Then the bottlers sell, distribute and merchandise Coca Cola to retail stores, restaurants and vending machines. There are more than 23 million retail outlets worldwide.
9. A company spanning over 200 countries is as diverse as it gets! It has more than 129,200 associates as of 2014 and more than 700,000 system employees including the bottling partners. Not only are they providing employment opportunities across the board, they are also sensitive to concerns of employees. They have been receiving a 100% rating by Human Rights Campaign as the Best Place to Work for LGBT Equality. It is also among the top companies on DiversityInc’s Top 50 Companies for Diversity.
10. Coca Cola has 2020 commitments for betterment of women, water, well being, climate protection, human & workplace rights, sustainable packaging and sustainable agriculture. By 2014 itself, it had made great strides in empowering women through its 5by20 initiative where it has empowered 865,000 women with the goal of empowering 5 million by 2020. It has also balanced 94% of water usage in its goal of 100% replenishment of water consumption by 2020. In order to focus on healthier lives, it has introduced zero calorie and low calories versions of over 100 products and supported more than 330 active, healthy living programs.
