The real thing: a profile of the coca cola company

Hartogh, Matthew (2007): The real thing: a profile of the coca cola company. Unpublished.

Abstract

Competition In its core competency, the Coca-Company has only one serious competitor, the PepsiCo Company, maker of Pepsi-Cola. Current market share of the two companies in the United States stands at 43.7% for Coca-Cola against 31.6% for PepsiCo. British firm Cadbury Schweppes comes in third in the American market with its 7UP and Dr. Pepper brands but does not have a head to head cola competitor for Coca-Cola. Supermarket “private label” cola brands are a substitute beverage for the big two but in terms of dollar sales, they do not cut greatly into their market share. According to the Beverage Digest 2001 survey, the top 4 brands continue to be Coke Classic, with a U.S. market share of 19.9%, Pepsi-Cola, with 13.2%, followed by Diet Coke with 8.8% and Mountain Dew (a PepsiCo product) with 6.9%.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Institution: University of California
• Language: English
• Keywords: Beverage; Coke; Coca Cola; Soft Drink; Business
• Subjects: M - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting > M3 - Marketing and Advertising; M - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting > M3 - Marketing and Advertising > M31 - Marketing; M - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting > M1 - Business Administration > M14 - Corporate Culture; Social Responsibility

References

References

Note: Data, references and graphs used by permission from Hartogh, et. al., “The Soft Beverage Industry”, unpublished MBA study, California State University Northridge.

Dow Jones Interactive online database. Company Profiles>Coca Cola. Retrieved from www.library.csun.edu >databases. Apr 1, 2002. “Coca Cola To Open 50,000 Outlets In Rural Push In India”, Asia Pulse, Mumbai, Mar 22,2002. Retrieved From www.library.csun.edu > databases > ASAP business > Keyword: Coca-Cola, India. See Appendix A, Company Market Share 1997, 2001. (These are the latest figures we have retrieved.) See Appendix B, Company and Brand market share 2001. Beverage Digest. See the discussion on market fragmentation and beverage trends in Hartogh, et.al., “The Soft Beverage Industry” Unpublished MBA study, California State University Northridge. See also, “Schools cash in as cola wars heat up”, Chicago Sun – Times, Apr 21, 2002. 6 “PepsiCo Inc. Gains in Soda Market As Coca-Cola's Share and Sales Slip”, Wall Street Journal, New York, Mar 1, 2002. www.sec.edgar.org > Company filings > Coca-Cola Form 10 K. See “Placing our bets. (Beverage Beat: overview of PepsiCo Inc.)”, Beverage Industry, Jan 2002. PepsiCo named “Company of the Year”.

Interview with Diana Lopez, Route manager, The Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Southern California (A controlling interest subsidiary of the Coca-Cola Company), Sylmar, California. Tel: [phone] ext. 6307. Email: [e-mail] Interviewed on Apr 24, 2002.

“Repairing the Coke Machine”, Business Week, Mar 19, 2001. Retrieved from http://www.businessweek.com on 4/15/02. “Behind the Coke Board's Refusal to Let CEO Daft Buy Quaker Oats”, Wall Street Journal, Nov 30, 2000. “How Coke Pushed Rivals Off the Shelf”, New York Times, Aug 6, 2000. 13 “Repairing the Coke Machine”, Business Week, Mar 19, 2001. Retrieved from http://www.businessweek.com on 4/15/02. 14 “Coke Adds Life to Sales, Profit After Losing Fizz in Late '90s; Outlook for drink company brightens with restructuring and U.S. economic recovery”, The Los Angeles Times, Apr 10, 2002.