Coca-Cola Life
As years go by, people are becoming more health conscious and consuming much healthier beverages. In lieu of having classic coke, people would rather have Diet Coke/ Coke Zero, and now there is the introduction of Coca-Cola life. The difference between Diet Coke/Coke Zero and Coca-Cola life is that a natural sweetener: Stevia is used in the latter. However, does using a natural sweetener mean that its healthier than the artificial sweetener? Or is it nothing but an attempt to make consumers perceive coke as a “healthy product” in order to boost soda sales, which have been declining in recent years: with a 3% volume decrease in the US in the past year[1]. This can be shown in the article titled, “Coca-Cola Life to make US debut,” published on 22/08/2014 by Journey Staff.[2] I’ll be discussing whether Coca Cola would be able to boost sales from their new product.
From the article, we can quickly notice the green bottles which differ from the traditional “red” we associate with Coca-Cola. If I saw it in the market I would think it was a completely new drink before I realise the Coca-Cola print on it. In my opinion, I do not agree with the idea of changing the colour to green, as they lose the brand-image that everyone is accustomed to seeing, making it harder for their customers to identify the new product as a Coca-Cola product. Secondly, the using of a natural sweetener over an artificial sweetener does not mean its healthier, they are using a natural product but it could have an equal amount of calories if not more. Lastly, I believe the introduction of the new cola puts it in a niche where it competes with other natural drinks such as juices, which are much healthier and the likelier choice for someone who is health-conscious.
In conclusion, Coca-Cola deserve some credit in illustrating that they are becoming more environmentally aware. With the green connoting eco-friendly, natural and sustainable. However they have relinquished their traditional red colour which was their main identity to their consumers. I also believe that it would be extremely difficult to convince their increasingly health conscious customers to view Coca-Cola as a healthy product. There are also plenty of rival products in this market segment that have been viewed as healthy beverages for years such as minute-maid juice. Personally, I think the marketing segment of Coca-Cola could have made the product more appealing to the consumers. Therefor I doubt if they’ll be able to boost sales.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
[1]http://www.bidnessetc.com/21356-coca-cola-ko-pepsico-pep-news-us-soda-sales-decline/
Website Title: business and news RSS
Article Title: US Soda Sales: Should Coca-Cola and PepsiCo Be Worried?
Date Accessed: October 05, 2014
[2] http://www.coca-colacompany.com/coca-cola-unbottled/coca-cola-life-to-make-us-debut
Website Title: The Coca-Cola Company
Article Title: Coca-Cola Life to Make U.S. Debut
Date Accessed: October 05, 2014