Evaluation Essay on Coca-Cola: From Inventor to Global Brand in 100 Years

Introduction

Coca Cola Company is a public limited American company that operates in the beverage industry. It was founded in 1886 in Atlanta Georgia by John Stith Pemberton. It is a worldwide manufacturer and supplier of beverage syrups and concentrates. The brand and the formulae were later sold to Asa Griggs Candler who incorporated the company in 1892. It is well known for the coca-cola drink that was invented by John Stith Pemberton. In 1916, the corporation started manufacturing its famous bottle which has ever since shaped the success of Coca Cola today (Coca-Cola Journey Homepage).

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Moreover, in 1928, Robert Woodruff the then corporation's president initiated the expansion of the Coca Cola overseas, including the introduction of the Olympic Games for the first time in history. Beginning early 1960s, the corporation decided to venture into other flavors, including Fresca, Fanta, and Sprite. Besides, he initiated various acquisition programs including the acquisition of Minute Maid Corporation which added a new line of Juice business. Other lines of products include; water, energy drinks as well as coffees. In 1980, a lot of innovative transformation had taken place in the corporation, including the introduction of Diet Coke, which emerges as one of the globes Low-calorie drink. The corporation global significance was increasing every year through capturing of significant markets and as of today, the corporation has expanded to be one of the globe's most Ubiquitous brands. Its assets are valued at approximately 89 billion dollars and reported a net income of 1.3 billion dollars in the financial year 2017. Coca-Cola controls a considerable market share of 60% as of 1948, which has been in the decrease due to competitors such as Pepsi (Coca-Cola Journey Homepage).

Brief Description of the Company

As of December 2013, the company boasted of offering employment to more than 130,000 people. The company manufactures, distributes, and markets soft drinks. It also licenses, markets, and owns more than 500 brands, which include waters, coffees, energy drinks, and juices. The company has a good market position, which has dramatically been propelled by and the world-class billion-dollar brands. The company's main competitor is PepsiCo (Coca-Cola Co. Financial Analysis and Stock Valuation).

SWOT Analysis

Strengths

The Coca-Cola brand is deeply rooted among Americans.

The bottling system used by Coca-Cola is a strength.

Weaknesses

There have been reported cases about declining volumes in some markets because of a reduction in the purchasing power of consumers.

Opportunities

The company has a strong brand which is recognized all around the world. Strong brands position a company above other on a competitive advantage.

Threats

Pepsi Company poses real threats in terms of products as well as the management team

Growing health consciousness among customers and drinks such as tea, coffee, hot chocolate, and milk pose a threat as well.

Various non-financial aspects may pose a challenge to the day to day business of the company. Evaluation of non-financial items is useful in establishing a full perspective of the activities, the current position of the company, and the challenges that may affect these activities. Such non-financial items include statutory constraints in different regions that are based on the amount of sugar to have amounted in drinks. The issue of sugar content is associated with health complications. Therefore, in accounting for the impact of the soft drinks may act as challenges.

Another non-financial item is that on full disclosure. For Coca Cola Company it has protected its formulae on the making of the soft drinks. Therefore, in conducting an audit to determine the true view of the financial statements, there is a need to examine the inputs which will raise a conflict of interest.

Concerning inputs of the final product, water seems to be the major input. Water is a scarce resource worldwide. Therefore, the scarcity will lead to an increase in the cost of acquiring quality water. It will affect the final production cost as well as the price of the products.

We also conducted trend and comparative industry analysis to establish the performance of coca-cola as compared to its competitors in the industry. In this case, we chose Pepsi as the competitor as it runs as the second in the market share. It is necessary to conduct industry analysis to determine that external factors portray a similar impact on companies in the same line of business. This will help in determining the true view of the financial statements. A case of a decrease in the price of sugar will have an impact on products from Pepsi and coca-cola; therefore, any variations will indicate misstatement.

Main Products And/or Services Offered by the Company

The corporation offers such products, including carbonated drinks and functional beverages. The products are produced under such brands including Fanta, Diet Coke, Coke-Zero, Dasani, Minute Maid, Simply, Vitaminwater, and Gold Peak. Since the corporation operates in the food and beverage industry and aims to control significant market share through increased sales, the corporation concentrates majorly only such services as customer's service. These services range from handling complaints, product information to product promotion and activities (Morningstar Independent Investment Research).

Main Factors that Impact the Demand for the Main Products and/Or Services

The following factors impact the demand of the corporation products and services.

Innovation

The corporation has tried to make new and improved product brands in attractive packages and interesting accessories. This has increased the demand for corporation products.

Culture

Culture is an external influence that impacts on consumers. Therefore, to gain adequate demand, the corporation has set its focus on all aspect culture, including embracing cultural diversity at work.

Economic Factors

During the recession, the corporation can face low demand for products. Therefore, economic forces will have negative impacts on the corporation products due to price change as a result of inflation and recession.

Social Factors

Social factors, including lifestyle and attitude, are likely to change over time and thus to affect the demand of the corporation's product. Positive customer attitude will increase demand while a negative attitude will reduce the demand.

References

Coca-Cola Co. (KO) | Financial Analysis and Stock Valuation. (n.d.). Retrieved March 17, 2019, from https://www.stock-analysis-on.net/NYSE/Company/Coca-Cola-Co

Coca-Cola Journey Homepage. (n.d.). Retrieved March 17, 2019, from https://www.coca-colacompany.com/

HOME. (2017, February 05). Retrieved March 17, 2019, from https://www.sec.gov/

Morningstar | Independent Investment Research. (n.d.). Retrieved March 17, 2019, from https://www.morningstar.com/

NASDAQ's Homepage for Retail Investors. (n.d.). Retrieved March 17, 2019, from https://www.nasdaq.com/