"We'll be a complete beverage company," says James Quincey, president of The Coca-Cola Company

BOCA RATON, Fla. - The Coca-Cola Company is evolving to become a full-service beverage company, reshaping its growth strategy and operating model to align with changes in consumer taste and buying habits, the new president said And the company's chief executive officer, James Quincey, during a conference of the Consumer Analyst Group of New York (CAGNY) in February.

Quincey said the company's focus is on boosting revenue growth by building and bringing to market "consumer-centric" brands - including more options with low or no sugar content and beverages from emerging categories. Another focus, he said, is to prioritize beverage transactions and share in value over sales volume, as it did in previous years. This new strategy will be stimulated by a leaner operating model and a more digital trading company, he added.


Raising business and reducing sugar

The company is reducing the sugar in its portfolio beverages by reformulating existing products while at the same time preserving the taste consumers love, in addition to globally implementing Coca-Cola zero sugar and other variants with little or no sugar . Expanding the distribution of smaller packages, such as minilatas, is another priority.


"We make it very clear that to drive sustainable and profitable growth of our brands, we also need to encourage and empower our consumers to control sugar consumption. We are making a very conscious effort not only to expand our portfolio, but to shape it in a judicious way. "


Quincey further noted that the company supports the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO) and other public health bodies to keep sugar added below 10% of daily calorie intake and sees an "exponential" growth opportunity within these recommendations .


Investing in categories of beverages that consumers want

"The Coca-Cola Company has grown to become larger than the Coca-Cola brand," he said. "The Coca-Cola brand will always be the heart and soul of The Coca-Cola Company, but the company has gone further. The company needs to be bigger than our core brand. "

The Coca-Cola Company will expand its portfolio into five category groupings, including energy drinks, milk / juice / herbal, enriched water / water / sports drinks and ready-to-drink coffees and teas.

"Before, we might have spent more time focused on the next big categories, volumetrically, than on those with the highest trend among consumers and that are of greater value to us," Quincey said.

The company will continue to innovate locally, he added, noting that approximately 75 percent of the company's billion-dollar brands were created in the field. "We see that the likely trajectory is accelerating our own innovation and elevating brands that are working," he explained, "but also continuing to invest in smaller companies and making acquisitions to bring more billion dollar brands into the flow."


Refranquia of bottlers almost complete

"The end is in sight," Quincey said of efforts to sell the company's bottling operations worldwide. "But rebirth is not an end in itself. It is an enabler of greater execution. Better marketing and better execution lead to faster revenue growth. "


Leaner, faster operating model

To drive this new strategy forward, Quincey said, an agile operational structure that drives rapid market action will be crucial. "We will adopt a modus operandi more similar to those of technology companies, instead of returning all our efforts and time to invent the perfect thing. We need to launch our projects faster and take more risks. "

He concluded: "The intent of the end result is to drive growth strategy - to increase revenue and improve our operating margin."