Soft Drinks Menace
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- Date Submitted: 04/04/2010 07:15 PM
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Yeh Dil Mange No More
Divya Prabhakar Soft drink brands such as Coca-Cola and Pepsi are powerful icons, symbols not only of westernization but also globalization, creating a unifying idiom across the world, from Bombay to Bonn to Boston, from Tokyo to Tenali to Timbaktu. Coke and Pepsi logos, recognized in over 200 countries, are embraced by billions to whom they promise refreshment and rejuvenation, respite and relaxation. According to Zenith International, humans worldwide consume nearly 1 trillion – yes, 1,000,000,000,000 – 500 ml bottles of soft drinks every year. Before you can say “Coke”, 30,000 soft drinks would have been consumed in that one second. Coke and Pepsi are well-run companies, able to navigate to spread their tentacles of marketing, distribution and sales to every nook and cranny of the world. They are amazingly adaptable to local markets, manufacturing and marketing drinks and snacks to suit local taste; price them and size them to fit the local pocket; push them and promote them to appeal to the local zeitgeist. The marketing strategy, anchored around fun, friends and frolic, features famous stars, irresistible to youth and adults. Coke and Pepsi beverages are sold in almost every restaurant, fast food joint, and store. In Japan, consumers can get a can of Coke with the click of a button on their mobile phone and pay for it through their phone bill at the end of the month. The ubiquity and ease of procurement is astonishing in developed and, increasingly, developing nations. Go ahead, grab one, yaar. Last year, Coke and Pepsi together sold US $ 75 billion (Rs. 3,75,000 crores) of products and made a profit of $ 11 billion (Rs. 55,000 crores). The combined sales of these two companies is higher than the GDP of 116 countries in the world...including the likes of Sri Lanka, Syria and Serbia. Sweet, no? But both Coke and Pepsi have a problem. The markets in the West are saturated; an average American drinks 412 bottles of soft drinks a year....
Divya Prabhakar Soft drink brands such as Coca-Cola and Pepsi are powerful icons, symbols not only of westernization but also globalization, creating a unifying idiom across the world, from Bombay to Bonn to Boston, from Tokyo to Tenali to Timbaktu. Coke and Pepsi logos, recognized in over 200 countries, are embraced by billions to whom they promise refreshment and rejuvenation, respite and relaxation. According to Zenith International, humans worldwide consume nearly 1 trillion – yes, 1,000,000,000,000 – 500 ml bottles of soft drinks every year. Before you can say “Coke”, 30,000 soft drinks would have been consumed in that one second. Coke and Pepsi are well-run companies, able to navigate to spread their tentacles of marketing, distribution and sales to every nook and cranny of the world. They are amazingly adaptable to local markets, manufacturing and marketing drinks and snacks to suit local taste; price them and size them to fit the local pocket; push them and promote them to appeal to the local zeitgeist. The marketing strategy, anchored around fun, friends and frolic, features famous stars, irresistible to youth and adults. Coke and Pepsi beverages are sold in almost every restaurant, fast food joint, and store. In Japan, consumers can get a can of Coke with the click of a button on their mobile phone and pay for it through their phone bill at the end of the month. The ubiquity and ease of procurement is astonishing in developed and, increasingly, developing nations. Go ahead, grab one, yaar. Last year, Coke and Pepsi together sold US $ 75 billion (Rs. 3,75,000 crores) of products and made a profit of $ 11 billion (Rs. 55,000 crores). The combined sales of these two companies is higher than the GDP of 116 countries in the world...including the likes of Sri Lanka, Syria and Serbia. Sweet, no? But both Coke and Pepsi have a problem. The markets in the West are saturated; an average American drinks 412 bottles of soft drinks a year....