Coca-Cola recently launched a new product called Coca-Cola Life, in order to keep up with the current health trends. Ariel’s blog post talks about this new product and current consumer opinions. I agree with her when she says that this new drink is very misleading to unknowledgeable consumers.

I understand Coca-Cola’s need to launch a healthy alternative to appeal to more markets, as pop sales have been constantly decreasing for the past decade. So, the constant decrease in sales plus the jump in health consciousness has caused Coke to reevaluate their approach and begin experimenting. It is a smart move for Coke to attempt to appeal to this ever growing market, but I don’t think it’s possible to create a actual healthy version of Coke while still keeping its taste.

This connects to the second issue which is Coca-Cola Life is not a healthy beverage option. It is a healthier alternative to the other Coca-Cola products, as it has much less sugar and contains real ingredients, compared to chemicals like aspartame. So, this will appeal to regular Coke consumers who are looking for a way to enjoy their favourite drink while consuming less sugar and processed ingredients. It will not however, appeal to the health conscious people of the generation, who know the only real healthy beverages are water and those of completely raw ingredients.

The most deceiving part of this new product is the label.  I learned in marketing class that the colour green when used in advertising is meant to represent; health, nature and the environment. So, when the consumer looks at this product and sees the green colour they unknowingly associate it with something that is heathy and good for them as well as, the environment. This is very far from the truth though as the single can of Coca-Cola Life contains the recommended total amount of sugar a human is to consumer in a whole day.

So, as I understand it is important for Coca-Cola to revise their value proposition to appeal to the growing base of health focused consumers, I do not think Coca-Cola life will appeal to those consumers. This product will only deceive the already regular Coke consumers into thinking it is a healthy beverage, when in the end it is not. Therefore, this is a very smart marketing initiative to associate health with Coca-Cola, but I do not think this will be a successfully product.

 

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Sources:

https://authoritynutrition.com/how-much-sugar-per-day/

https://blogs.ubc.ca/arielni/

http://www.coca-cola.ca/brands/coca-cola-life/coca-cola-life

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3018850/Coca-Cola-accused-health-washing-single-Coke-Life-maxes-daily-recommended-SIX-teaspoons-sugar.html

http://www.empower-yourself-with-color-psychology.com/green-in-business.html

http://www.news.com.au/finance/business/other-industries/spork-life-dysfunction-at-the-heart-of-cocacola/news-story/e02d21493c23b58c4ff48bb96cbb3de7

http://www.thejournal.ie/green-coca-cola-is-a-thing-now-1922039-Feb2015/