Santa Cruz Sentinal Mexican Coke: The 'Real Thing?'

"It's popping up just about everywhere in Latino communities across the United States: Mexican-made Coca-Cola in those old glass bottles, somewhat of an anomaly in the age of the plastic liter and twist-off cap."

"The company, however, rarely elaborates on Coke's ingredients, and the secret formula is actually in a vault in a bank in Atlanta. Instead, the company line all along has been that there is "no perceptible taste difference" between Mexican Coke and the American-made Classic Coke."

"Yet there is one kicker, and it's a fairly large one: Mexican Coke may contain the same secret syrup, but its sweetener is entirely different."

redux [12.17.05]
The Financial Express The Real thing?

"It’s been a long journey of 112 years. But on Monday last, when Pepsi’s market cap finally overtook that of rival and long-time Wall Street favourite, Coke, it was a moment for many brand watchers to savour. To generations of market observers and management geeks, not to mention management students, brought up on the classic case study of the two great soft drinks rivals, it marked a turn of fortune, unimaginable when Pepsi set out, a complete underdog to challenge the mighty Coke.

To Coke loyalists, it may seem sacrilege that Coke should now be the Street favourite. But Wall Street, unlike diehard Coke loyalists, is driven by cold numbers."

New York Daily News Coke, Pepsi sales shrink

"Coca-Cola and PepsiCo are headed for their first annual decline in U.S. soft-drink sales in at least four decades as health-conscious consumers switch to bottled water, sports drinks and juices."

"Coca-Cola, the world's largest soft-drink company, gets 82% of its revenue from carbonated beverages and is spending an additional $400 million to win back soda drinkers and develop new products.

No. 2 PepsiCo was quicker to expand into snacks and other drinks such as Gatorade and now brings in less than 20% of sales from sodas."

Washington Monthly For God, Country and Coca Cola. - book reviews

"Pendergrast also examines Coke's changing responses to the Pepsi challenge. For decades Big Red could simply ignore its competitor. In a 1948 poll of veterans, two thirds identified Coke as their favorite soft drink; only 8 percent chose Pepsi. True, Pepsi offered more drink for the consumer's nickel, but it was widely viewed as "oversweet bellywash for kids and poor people," and, in the South, as a Negro drink. Coke's often radical marketing innovations have been coupled with extreme conservatism. The company's logo dates from 1887, its formula from the turn of the century, its six-ounce "Mae West" bottle from 1914. But during the fifties and sixties Pepsi slowly gained ground, and by the late seventies it actually surpassed Coke in supermarket sales and advertising dollars. The company's executives responded reluctantly: first, in 1955, with "King Size Coke"; then with competitive advertising, which implicitly recognized that Pepsi existed; finally, in 1985, with the sweeter, more Pepsi-like "New Coke.""

BusinessWeek I'd Like the World to Buy a Coke

"In 1954, Roberto C. Goizueta answered a help-wanted advertisement for a chemical engineer in a Havana newspaper and went to work for The Coca-Cola Co. Twenty-six years later, the Cuban-born executive triumphed in a bruising battle for Coke's top job. Named president in May of 1980 and elected chairman and chief executive 10 weeks later, Goizueta had overcome long odds and bested worthy rivals to command one of the world's great enterprises.

But Goizueta could hardly afford to rest on his laurels. The company he headed was mired in a hodgepodge of unrelated ventures, from shrimp farming to winemaking. Its crucial bottler system was badly decayed, with important markets left in the hands of weak operators. There was no strategic vision, and creativity was stifled by a blind adherence to tradition and a refusal to take risks. Worst of all, Coke's stock had fallen by half, and the company was barely turning a profit."

Meghan R. Busse Why is the soft drink industry so profitable?

"Revenues are extremely concentrated in this industry, with Coke and Pepsi, together with their associated bottlers, commanding 73% of the case market in 1994. Adding in the next tier of soft drink companies, the top six controlled 89% of the market. In fact, one could characterize the soft drink market as an oligopoly, or even a duopoly between Coke and Pepsi, resulting in positive economic profits. To be sure, there was tough competition between Coke and Pepsi for market share, and this occasionally hampered profitability. For example, price wars resulted in weak brand loyalty and eroded margins for both companies in the 1980s. The Pepsi Challenge, meanwhile, affected market share without hampering per case profitability, as Pepsi was able to compete on attributes other than price."