Coca-Cola Company

Headquarters - in the capital of Georgia - Atlanta.

2023

Plastic chemicals found in Coca-Cola drinks and McDonald's burgers

In early January 2024, Consumer Reports, a nonprofit that publishes reviews and comparative tests of consumer products and services, published the results of a study that focuses on finding dangerous plastic chemicals in popular foods. Experts checked 85 products, in 84 of which harmful substances were found. Read more here.

WHO recognizes Coca-Cola sweetener as cancer-causing carcinogen

On July 14, 2023, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and the Joint Committee of Experts on Food Additives (OCEPD) of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) released the results of a study according to which the sweetener from Coca-Cola is recognized as a carcinogen causing the development of malignancies. Read more here.

Purchase of Finlandia

In mid-June 2023, Coca-Cola announced the acquisition from Brown-Forman Netherlands BV of Brown-Forman Finland Oy, which owns the Finlandia brand. The transaction amount amounted to $220 million. Read more here.

2022

Two sodas a day raise risk of obesity-related cancer death

On September 15, 2022, a study was published, according to which people who drink two or more servings of sugar-sweetened drinks (PSN) per day are more likely to die from cancer caused by obesity, including cancers of the gastrointestinal tract, kidneys, postmenopausal breast and endometrium. Read more here.

Failure to sell Sprite in green plastic bottles due to their non-environmental nature

Coca-Cola in July 2022 said it would stop selling Sprite in green plastic bottles it had been bottled in for more than 60 years from August 1 - due to their non-ecology

IT systems are compromised. 161GB of data stolen

At the end of April 2022, Coca-Cola announced that it was investigating a data breach after a gang of Stormous cyber security agents alleged hacking into the company's IT systems and stealing its data. The hackers, they claim, hacked into several Coca-Cola servers and downloaded 161GB of data.

On April 25, 2022, Stormous members announced that the group was offering to sell stolen data for 1.6467 bitcoins (about $63 thousand). The decision to hack Coca-Cola came after the Stormous group conducted a poll on its Telegram channel, asking members to vote on who should be attacked and 72% of the vote went to Coca-Cola.

Coca-Cola IT systems hacked. 161 GB of data stolen, they are sold for $63 thousand.

The Stormous group specializes in ransomware viruses and first appeared in early 2022 on the eve of the start of Russia's military special operation in Ukraine. After February 25, 2022, the group announced that it supported Russia and would attack Western companies.

According to SiliconANGLE, Stormous may be Russian or associated with the Russian government, but security researchers interviewed by the publication are not sure about this. In some of its early attacks, the group left a ransom note written in Arabic, which Digital Recovery believes may indicate its country of origin. Hackers from Stormous claim to have broken into various military installations in the US and Europe, as well as some companies including Serta and Epic Games.

Laminar chief executive Amit Shaked, who specializes in data protection in the public cloud, noted the incident signals that the data is no longer a commodity but a currency. Shaked explained that information on the organization's network is valuable for both business and cybercriminals.^[1]

2021

Revenue growth by 17% to $38.7 billion

At the end of 2021, Coca-Cola's revenue grew by 17%, to $38.7 billion. In 2020, the figure was $33.014 billion. The company's net profit increased by 26% compared to 2020 - from $7.747 billion to $9.771 billion, follows from the Coca-Cola financial report.

In the EMEA region, the company's revenue in 2021 reached $7.193 billion. In Latin America, the figure reached $4.143 billion. In North America, Coca-Cola's revenue was $13.190 billion. In the Asia-Pacific region, the company's revenue reached $5.291 billion.

Coca-Cola ends year with 17% growth in sales

To complement and support its World Without Waste goals, the company announced a new global challenge in 2021: by 2030, the share of reusable packaging should be 25%, which includes glass and plastic bottles for reusable use.

In its 2021 financial report, Coca-Cola named WPP as its global marketing network partner. WPP will play a key role in introducing a new marketing model to drive long-term growth in the company's global brand portfolio. The new integrated agency model is consumer-centric and leverages the power of large-scale, bold ideas and creativity within the company.

In 2021, Coca-Cola continued to strengthen its customer-centric portfolio through strategic acquisitions, with the company acquiring the remaining 85% stake in BodyArmor, a line of sports and hydration beverages that have significant potential for Coca-Cola's long-term growth. Throughout 2021, BodyArmor was the No. 2 sports drink in the category by measured retail channel in the U.S., with retail value growth of about 50%. BodyArmor will be managed by the company as a separate business within the company's North American division.^[2]

Buying BodyArmor for $5.6 billion

In early November 2021, Coca-Cola announced an increase to 100% in BodyArmor's $5.6 billion stake in a deal that estimates the sports drinks maker at about $8 billion. Read more here.

In which countries it is impossible to legally buy Coca-Cola

2020

Cutting 2,200 jobs worldwide

On December 17, 2020, it became known about the reduction of 2,200 jobs in Coca-Cola. Most of the layoffs (1200 employees) will affect enterprises in the United States.

According to The Wall Street Journal, as a result of personnel restructuring, Coca-Cola's staff in the United States, which was 10,400 people, will decrease by 12%. In Atlanta, where the company has its headquarters, the liquidation of about 500 working positions is expected.

Coca-Cola fires 2,200 employees to save $550m

The company hopes to achieve annual savings of $350-550 million through layoffs. By the end of 2019, Coca-Cola employed a total of 86,000 people worldwide.

Coca-Cola believes the layoffs will allow the corporation to become a network that will need to make fewer decisions, there will be less bureaucracy and ultimately fewer people.

According to a company representative, we are talking about both voluntary and forced layoffs. In August, Coca-Cola offered approximately 4,000 employees in the United States and Canada compensation packages in the event of voluntary care. How many people agreed to this, the company does not report.

It is assumed that mass layoffs in Coca-Cola are associated with the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, due to which restaurants, bars and cinemas selling the company's drinks were closed around the world. Under these conditions, Coca-Cola is forced to take measures to reduce costs and reduce production volumes. Under these conditions, the company abandoned half of the brands in its assortment - the production of products under 200 brands was stopped.

The company's capitalization from the beginning of 2020 to December 17 contracted by 3.8%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average, to which the soda producer belongs, added 6.2% during this period.^[3]

Global leader in plastic packaging pollution

Data on the release of plastic packaging in metric tons per year, as of 2020

Investment in Centrapay

In early September 2020, Coca-Cola, through its subsidiary Amatil X, invested in the developer of alternative payment systems Centrapay to integrate them with vending machines. Coca-Cola also noted that the pilot project to cooperate with the startup was successful. Read more here.

Reorganization and reduction of personnel in the USA and Canada

In August 2020, Coca-Cola announces strategic steps to reorganize its business and offers employees the opportunity to accept a voluntary termination package.

The company says it will create new operations units focused on regional and local execution that will work with five teams of marketing category leaders that will "reshape our marketing to drive greater growth and get closer to customers and consumers."

The company will introduce a voluntary separation program that will give employees the opportunity to accept a separation package that will be offered first to employees in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.

Global severance programs are expected to incur costs of $350 million - $550 million.

2013: Coca-Cola disappointed in social marketing

In March 2013, Coca-Cola Director of International Market Strategy Eric Schmidt stated that he estimates the impact of promotion on the social web on short-term sales of the company at no more than 0.01%. Specifically, he stated the following:

"We don't see any significant relationship between the 'noise' we create online and our short-term sales."

Schmidt's statement looks rather radical, since in reality Coca-Cola is making significant efforts to promote on the Internet and social networks. For example, the number of subscribers to the company's corporate Facebook page is 62 million people, and the number of followers of the Twitter account is 687,000.

Coca-Cola has 62 million followers on Facebook, and the number of followers of the Twitter account is 687 thousand, but the corporation finds it difficult to assess whether there is any effect from the presence on social networks

For example, Coca-Cola launched a special marketing campaign in support of the Super Bowl (in American football, the name of the final game for the title of champion of the National Football League, the de facto national holiday of the United States). Within the company, users could interactively interact with symbolic characters of the competition within a special site and receive incentives. According to Schmidt, the company finds it difficult to assess whether the launch of this campaign has become positive or negative in terms of sales.

Company brands on the market leaders map for the mid-2010s

However, according to Schmidt, not all aspects of Internet activity are so useless. The specific term buzz (or "annoying noise"), which he used to describe the corporation's social web activity, for example, he said, does not include sharing and watching videos.

According to internal research by Coca-Cola, Digital Signage on the network has at the same time a 90% greater efficiency compared to advertising on TV, print advertising also works better than television.

2007: 83rd in Fortune 1000

Included in the Fortune 1000 list at the end of 2007 (83rd place).

1991

Large curls and volume. Well, advertising, respectively. Model Naomi Campbell 1991

1984: Controversial advertising campaign

"Only one managed to conquer the world." Coca-Cola fizzy drink advertisement, USA, 1984.

1969

Coca Cola ads created with pigeons. Venice, late 1960s.

1940: Fanta - a drink only for Nazi Germany

In 1940, during the Second World War, Coca-Cola, due to sanctions, could not import syrup into German territory. Therefore, the representative of Coca-Cola in this fascist country created the drink Fanta - only for Nazi Germany.

Coca-Cola's parent division acquired the rights to the Fanta trademark in 1960.

1936: General sponsor of the Olympic Games in Nazi Germany

Coca-Cola is the general sponsor of the 1936 Olympics in Nazi Germany.

Coca-Cola cans, 1936.

1931: Creating a New Santa Look to Boost Cola Sales in Winter

In 1931, Coke launched an advertising campaign to increase winter sales of soft drinks. In doing so, she suggested a more modern Santa look designed by Haddon Sandblom. It is to this painter that the merit of creating the image of the charming Santa Claus, recognizable and very popular all over the world, belongs.

1925: Swastika-shaped keychains

In 1925, Coca-Cola released a souvenir keychain shaped like a swastika. Before the Nazis, the swastika in the United States, as in India, symbolized good luck.

1910

Advertising Ford "Coke." 1910.

1909: First supply of the drink

First Coca-Cola deliveries. 1909.

1906: Coca-cola - sweet syrup for water dilution

The first packaging of Coke, 1906. At the time, it was a sweet syrup that needed to be diluted with sparkling water.

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