The Coca-Cola Company

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is a beverage company, manufacturer, distributor, and marketer

of non-alcoholic beverage concentrates andsyrups. The company is best known for its flagship
product Coca-Cola, invented by pharmacist John Stith Pemberton in 1886. The Coca-Cola formula and
brand was bought in 1889 by Asa Candler who incorporated The Coca-Cola Company in 1892. Besides
its namesake Coca-Cola beverage, Coca-Cola currently offers more than 400 brands in over 200
countries or territories and serves 1.6 billion servings each day. [5]

The company operates a franchised distribution system dating from 1889 where The Coca-Cola
Company only produces syrup concentrate which is then sold to various bottlers throughout the world
who hold an exclusive territory.

The Coca-Cola Company is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Its stock is listed on the NYSE and is part
of DJIA, S&P 500 Index, the Russell 1000 Index and the Russell 1000 Growth Stock Index. Its current
chairman and CEO is Muhtar Kent.

History
The Coca-Cola Company was originally established in 1891 as the J. S. Pemberton Medicine Company,
a co-partnership between Dr. John Stith Pemberton and Ed Holland.[6] The company was formed to sell
three main products: Pemberton's French Wine Cola (later known as Coca-Cola), Pemberton's Indian
Queen Hair Dye, and Pemberton's Globe Flower Cough Syrup. [6]

In 1884, the company became a stock company and the name was changed to Pemberton Chemical
Company.[6] The new president was D. D. Doe while Ed Holland became the new Vice-President.
[6]
 Pemberton stayed on as the superintendent.[6] The company's factory was located at No. 107, Marietta
St.[6] Three years later, the company was again changed to Pemberton Medicine Company, another co-
partnership, this time between Pemberton, A. O. Murphy, E. H. Bloodworth, and J. C. Mayfield.[6]

Finally in October 1888, the company received a charter with an authorized capital of $50,000. [6] The
charter became official on January 15, 1889. By this time, the company had expanded its offerings to
include Pemberton's Orange and Lemon Elixir.[6]

[edit]Acquisitions

China rejected a $2.4 billion bid from The Coca-Cola Company for the Huiyuan Juice Group on the
grounds that it would be a virtual monopoly, althoughnationalism was also thought to be a reason for
aborting the deal.[7] Rumours speculated that an American rejection of a bid for UNOCAL by a partly
state-owned oil company played a part in the rejection.

Coca-Cola acquired the Indian cola brand Thums Up in 1993.[8]

Revenue
According to the 2005 Annual Report,[9] the company sells beverage products in more than
200 [10] countries. The report further states that of the more than 50 billion beverage servings of all types
consumed worldwide every day, beverages bearing the trademarks owned by or licensed to Coca-Cola
account for approximately 1.5 billion. Of these, beverages bearing the trademark "Coca-Cola" or "Coke"
accounted for approximately 78% of the Company's total gallon sales.

Also according to the 2007 Annual Report, Coca-Cola had gallon sales distributed as follows:

 37% in the United States

 43% in Mexico,India, Brazil, Japan and the People's Republic of China
 20% spread throughout the rest of the world

In 2010 it was announced that Coca-Cola had become the first brand to top £1 billion in annual UK
grocery sales [11].

Lobbying
In the US, Coca-Cola is a major lobbying force working to gain favorable legislation for the beverage
industry. In both 2005 and 2006, it spent $1 million each year on lobbying. In 2007 that increased to $1.7
million, and by 2008, to $2.5 million. In 2009, total lobbying expenses jumped to $4.5 million, or nearly
double the previous year. Much of the increased lobbying expenses are due to the industry’s fight against
increased taxes on soft drinks and other sweetened beverages.[12] For 2009, Coca-Cola has 38 lobbyists
at 7 different firms lobbying on its behalf.[13]

Bottlers
Main article:  List of assets owned by The Coca-Cola Company

In general, The Coca-Cola Company (TCCC) and/or subsidiaries only produces (or produce) syrup
concentrate which is then sold to various bottlers throughout the world who hold a Coca-Cola franchise.
Coca-Cola bottlers, who hold territorially exclusive contracts with the company, produce finished product
in cans and bottles from the concentrate in combination with filtered water and sweeteners. The bottlers
then sell, distribute and merchandise the resulting Coca-Cola product to retail stores, vending machines,
restaurants and food service distributors.

One notable exception to this general relationship between TCCC and bottlers is fountain syrups in the
United States, where TCCC bypasses bottlers and is responsible for the manufacture and sale of fountain
syrups directly to authorized fountain wholesalers and some fountain retailers.

Criticism
Main article:  Criticism of Coca-Cola

The Coca-Cola Company has been involved in a number of controversies and lawsuits related to its
relationship with human rights violations and other perceived unethical practices.

A number of lawsuits have been issued in relation to its allegedly monopolistic and discriminatory
practices, some of which have been dismissed, some of which have caused The Coca-Cola Company to
change its business practices, and some of which have been settled out of court. [14] It has also been
involved in a discrimination case. There have been continuing criticisms regarding the Coca-Cola
Company's relation to the Middle East and U.S. foreign policy.

An issue with pesticides in groundwater in 2003 led to problems for the company when an Indian NGO,
Centre for Science and Environment, announced that it had found cancer causing chemicals in Coca-
Cola as well as other soft drinks produced by the company, at levels 30 times that considered safe by the
European Economic Commission. This caused an 11 percent drop in Indian Coca-Cola sales. [15][16] The
Indian Health Minister said the CSE tests were inaccurate, and said that the government's tests found
pesticide levels within India's standards but above EU standards. [17][18] The UK-based Central Science
Laboratory, commissioned by Coke, found its products met EU standards in 2006. [19] Coke and
the University of Michigan commissioned an independent study of its bottling plants by The Energy and
Resources Institute (TERI), which reported in 2008 no unsafe chemicals in the water supply, though it
criticized Coke for the impact of its water usage on local supply. [20]

The company has been criticised on a number of environmental issues. Critics claim that the company's
overuse of local water supplies in some locations has led to severe shortages for regional farmers and the
forced closure of some plants[21]. Packaging used in Coca-Cola's products have a significant
environmental impact. However, the company strongly opposes attempts to introduce mechanisms such
as container deposit legislation.[22]

There are charges that the Coca-Cola Company was involved in the violent repression of a union at
several of its bottling plants in Colombia, South America. As of August 2005, when PBS's Frontline ran a
story on the controversy, Coca-Cola strenuously denied all allegations of union-busting and murder of
union leaders. Shareholders and U.S. colleges[23][24] have boycotted Coca-Cola to try to put pressure on
the company to approve a full-scale, independent investigation of the charges. [25]

On 10 December 2008, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) wrote to Mr. Muhtar Kent, President
and Chief Executive Officer, to warn him that the FDA had concluded that Coca-Cola's productDiet Coke
Plus 20 FL OZ was is in violation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. [26]

In January 2009, the US consumer group the Center for Science in the Public Interest filed a class-action
lawsuit against Coca-Cola[27]. The lawsuit was in regards to claims made, along with the company's
flavors, of Vitamin Water. Claims say that the 33 grams of sugar are more harmful than the vitamins and
other additives are helpful. Coca-Cola insists the suit is "ridiculous

Products and brands

Main article:  Coca-Cola brands

The Coca-Cola Company offers nearly 400 brands in over 200 countries, besides its namesake Coca-
Cola beverage.

Tab was Coca-Cola's first attempt to develop a diet soft drink, using saccharin as a sugar substitute.
Introduced in 1963, the product is still sold today, however its sales have dwindled since the introduction
of Diet Coke.

The Coca-Cola Company also produces a number of other soft drinks including Fanta (introduced circa
1942 or 1943) and Sprite. Fanta's origins date back to World War II when Max Keith, who managed
Coca-Cola's operations in Germany during the war, wanted to make money from Nazi Germany but did
not want the negative publicity. Keith resorted to producing a different soft drink, Fanta, which proved to
be a hit, and when Coke took over again after the war, it adopted the Fanta brand as well. The
German Fanta Klare Zitrone ("Clear Lemon Fanta") variety became Sprite, another of the company's
bestsellers and its response to 7 Up.

During the 1990s, the company responded to the growing consumer interest in healthy beverages by
introducing several new non-carbonated beverage brands. These included Minute Maid Juices to
Go, Powerade sports beverage, flavored tea Nestea (in a joint venture with Nestle), Fruitopia fruit drink
and Dasani water, among others. In 2001, Minute Maid division launched the Simply Orange brand of
juices including orange juice.

In 2004, perhaps in response to the burgeoning popularity of low-carbohydrate diets such as the Atkins

Diet, Coca-Cola announced its intention to develop and sell a low-carbohydrate alternative to Coke
Classic, dubbed C2 Cola. C2 contains a mix of high fructose corn syrup, aspartame, sucralose,
and Acesulfame potassium. C2 is designed to more closely emulate the taste of Coca-Cola Classic. Even
with less than half of the food energy and carbohydrates of standard soft drinks, C2 is not a replacement
for zero-calorie soft drinks such as Diet Coke. C2 went on sale in the U.S. on June 11, 2004, and
in Canada in August 2004. C2's future is uncertain due to disappointing sales.

Coca-Cola is the best-selling soft drink in most countries. While the Middle East is one of the only regions
in the world where Coca-Cola is not the number one soda drink, Coca-Cola nonetheless holds almost
25% marketshare (to Pepsi's 75%) and had double-digit growth in 2003. [28] Similarly, in Scotland, where
the locally produced Irn-Bru was once more popular, 2005 figures show that both Coca-Cola and Diet
Coke now outsell Irn-Bru.[29] In Peru, the native Inca Kola has been more popular than Coca-Cola, which
prompted Coca-Cola to enter in negotiations with the soft drink's company and buy 50% of its stakes.
In Japan, the best selling soft drink is not cola, as (canned) tea and coffee are more popular.[30] As such,
the Coca-Cola Company's best selling brand there is not Coca-Cola, but Georgia.[31]

Some claim Coke is less popular in India due to suspicions regarding the health standards of the drink.
[citation needed]

On July 6, 2006, a Coca-Cola employee and two other people were arrested and charged with trying to
sell trade secrets information to the soft drink maker's competitor, PepsiCo for $1.5 million. The recipe for
Coca-Cola, perhaps the company's most closely guarded secret, was never in jeopardy. Instead, the
information was related to a new beverage in development. Coca-Cola executives verified that the
documents were valid and proprietary. At least one glass vial containing a sample of a new drink was
offered for sale, court documents said. The conspiracy was revealed by PepsiCo, which notified the
authorities when they were approached by the conspirators. [32]

The company announced a new "negative calorie" green tea drink, Enviga, in 2006, along with trying
coffee retail concepts Far Coast and Chaqwa.

On May 25, 2007, Coca-Cola announced it would purchase Glaceau, a maker of flavored vitamin-
enhanced drinks (vitamin water), flavored waters, and energy drinks, for $4.1 billion in cash.[33]

On September 3, 2008, Coca-Cola announced its intention to make cash offers to purchase China
Huiyuan Juice Group Limited (which has a 42% share of the Chinese pure fruit juice market [34]) for
US$2.4bn (HK$12.20 per share).[35] China's ministry of commerce blocked the deal on March 18, 2009,
arguing that the deal would hurt small local juice companies, could have pushed up juice market prices
and limited consumers’ choices.[36]

In October 2009, Coca-Cola revealed its new 90-calorie mini can that holds 7.5 fluid ounces.[37] The first
shipments are expected to reach the New York City and Washington D.C. markets in December 2009 and
nationwide by March 2010.[37]

Sponsorship
Coca-Cola has sponsored the English Football League since the beginning of the 2004-05
season (beginning August 2004). Other major sponsorships include NASCAR, the NBA, the PGA
Tour, NCAAChampionships, the Olympic Games, the NRL, the FIFA World Cups and the UEFA Euro, as
well as the hit Fox singing-competition series American Idol. Coca-Cola is a sponsor of the nightly talk
show on PBS, Charlie Rose in the US

In video games
In PlayStation Home, the PlayStation 3's online community-based service, Coca-Cola placed a vending
machine in Home that took users to a space called the "Georgia Break Station". The vending machine
also distributed original avatar items and presented, along with "C-pons", digital coupons that could be
used to get real drinks from real vending machines. This was to promote Coca-Cola'sGeorgia series of
canned coffee. The space was a lounge where users could sit and chat and included two in-lounge
avatars that told the users about the Georgia coffee. It was available from September 7, 2009 to
December 17, 2009 in the Japanese version of Home. [38][unreliable source?]

In Dreamcast's Shenmue in 1999, Coca-Cola was featured in the Japanese only version when the main
character Ryo Hazuki finds vending machines on the street corners in the video game, and actual cans
that were sold in Japan in 1986, the setting of the video game. Sometimes, Ryo gets a special can which
can be turned in for prizes.

References
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Coca-Cola_Company