Chapter 11: Developing and Managing Products

     In 1886, Coca-Cola sold for 5 cents per glass. It was just an experiment and sold for treatment for morphine addicts. Coca-Cola has grown throughout the years and has hit a peak where the company almost monopolizes the competition. It's the most famous beverage in the world. And even when the company has over 3,000 different beverages in over 200 different countries, consumers still believe that the Coca-Cola is the companies best product and the one they love the most. 

   The Coca-Cola bottle has such an elegant silhouette, its difficult to not love everything about it. Theres a different taste that comes from drinking Coca-Cola out of a glass bottle then drinking it from anything else, it just feels right. And that is what Coca-Cola Company wants. They represent timeless passions and want you to know that a holiday isn't a holiday without a Coca-Cola nearby. 

     

   But even with the success of Coca-Cola, the company still wanted to explore different fields of beverages, like Diet beverages for example. Beverages that would be low on sugar, calories and saturated fat. So that's exactly what they did, in  2005 the Coca-Cola Company introduced Coke Zero, a beverage that just yells -- "How about a little less fat and sugar with the SAME taste you all, folks?!"

Coke Zero is now available in 130 different countries and has sold billions of cases since its release.

With more and more people being stirred away from Coca-Cola, the company had to make moves in order to maintain their sales. They wanted a product that would be good for everyone and people wouldn't have to think twice about drinking it or not. It had to be a common beverage. What's a beverage most people reach for when they're at the market? Juice. The Minute Maid line was introduced for that purpose and also has many different lines of beverages under its belts. Flavors like Grape, Orange, Strawberry, Apple, Pomegranate, etc.. all also come in different options like "100%" or "Pulp/No Pulp" for the Orange Juice. Minute Maid is a big reason why the Coca-Cola Company has been able to remain at top.

     A few chapters ago, I mentioned the "Coca-Cola Freestyle" product which is a beverage machine that serves over 100 different Coca-Cola Products. They have been placed around NYC and other states in the country. It is another example of the Coca-Cola Companies ability to develop and manage new products in a way where they appeal to the audience. Whether its with sales promotion or personal selling, the Coca-Cola Company always makes suers they are staying one step ahead of everyone else.