Marketing Audit: Coke Zero

There is a lot of High Fructose Corn Syrup, the sugar of choice, in regular sodas. People started finding out about how bad sugar is for them and how much sugar was really in their favorite every day drink. Everyone started turning against all of the soda companies and they had no choice but to come up with an alternative. So, instead of using natural sugar or High Fructose Corn Syrup in sodas, scientists invented artificial sweeteners, a way to keep the soda sweet yet contain no sugar. Artificial sweeteners like Aspartame that are added to diet soda are actually worse for us than the sugar that is in regular soda. This was proven by an Osteopathic Physician from the American Colledge of Nutrition who states, "While many of the artificial sweeteners have reportedly similar side effects, aspartame accounts for over 75 percent of the adverse reactions to food additives reported to the FDA" (Mercola).

Unable to refute claims about their contributions to obesity, they make personal connections and pay researchers to deceive the public about their products. In doing this, they lie, avoid facts, and offer biased studies from people/establishments the public should be able to trust. Soft drink companies are desperate to be viewed as better than they really are. Instead of taking criticism in stride, they falsify facts and studies. They exert an enormous amount of money and energy to create a facade in hopes to deceive the public.

Soda companies “dramatically announced that they would aim to cut the number of sugary drinks calories by twenty percent over the next ten years by reducing the portion size and trying to sell more zero-calorie and low calorie options.” By reducing the portion size, Americans could be drinking more cans, and possibly drinking more ounces than they were originally. As for the zero-calorie and low calorie options, the drinks are considered by doctors to be worst than the original because they contain artificial sweeteners that are not ‘natural sugars’, but chemically made sugars that puts an individual at greater risk of being morbidly obese by slowing their metabolisms, and is also known to elevate their blood pressure. Mexico’s soda consumption and obesity rate was once worst than the United States a few years ago, Mexico then established “a significant tax on soda and junk food.. Soda consumption in Mexico fell by a couple of percent points almost immediately.. there was almost as large increase in the sale of bottled water (not taxed).” Mexico had went ahead with its initiative to stop their nation’s problem, as for the United States, soda has become a major part of our diets. I believe that is restricting us from progressing from this aggravated problem.

It is no secret that one of America’s biggest health concerns is obesity. Sugar has been linked as one of the greatest causes of obesity. The amount of daily sugar intake has increased over the past years and with it so has it’s health risks. The food industry is now adding additional sugar to their products. Many of the big named companies are great contributors to the obesity rate in the United States. Those with the greatest impact are soda companies. These sugary drinks are a major contributor to this epidemic. Sadly, many people are unaware of the consequences that excessive sugar can cause. Therefore, soda companies should add to the beverages that contain

A single twelve ounce can of regular Coca-Cola contains thirty-nine grams of sugar, and 140 calories, as opposed to the zero on both counts that a can of diet Coke has. Without sugar or calories, it allows people to drink more than one per day, if they aren’t concerned about the large amounts of caffeine, of course. This lack of sugar and calories allows for a clean conscience when ordering a glass of diet Coke at the restaurant while with friends, and for a lower number on the scale. A simple diet shouldn’t keep a person from enjoying a can of

This new campaign changed directions from “the problems big companies cause by how they make the food you eat” to “the problem is you”, focusing on getting kids to exercise more. Behind the curtain of this newly launched campaign was the Global Energy Balance Network which was funded by Coca-Cola, whose main goal was to minimize the scientific evidence that showed that sugar was a major contributor to many health-related problems, i.e. downplaying the link between soft drinks and

In today’s world we are seeing a growing concern for our younger generation that is growing up with the struggles of obesity, many of them are starting to deal with the same health issues that were isolated to adults just a few years ago. In the movie Fed Up the director Stephanie Soechtig wanted to open our eyes to the issue that has gone unnoticed for so long, that fact that the food industry has been hiding the truth about our eating habits. In the movie they spoke about, “how the soda industry fund research study that help to say that soft drinks have nothing to do with obesity” (Soechtig, 2014).

People nowadays generally believe that, by simply consuming artificial sweetened food product like diet soda instead of naturally sweetened food product could help them researching their weight loss goal without changing any of their dietary habit. Most of them had gain this knowledge through advertisements on television, magazine, or the internet. America, being the highest soda consumption country, average on 170 liters per year per person, has the most serious obesity problem in the world. According to JAMA Internal Medicine, 75 percent of men and 67 percent of women ages 25 and older are now overweight or obese. Where about one-fifth of the soda in America are labeled as “diet” drinks, and most of them use aspartame

Diabetes is an epidemic spreading throughout the United States. 29 million people in the United States currently live with diabetes. (“Center for disease control and prevention”, 2016). Coca Cola and Pepsi are two of the top soda distributers around the globe. Coca Cola has been a company since 1886 (“The History of Coca Cola”, 2014). On the other hand Pepsi has been avaible to the public since 1965 (“History of the birthplace”, 2013). These two companies have had over one hundred years combined to advertise, and sell their extremely un-healthy sugar filled beverages. That has aided the diabetes epidemic that is currently in the United States. If one consumes too much soda they will begin to have many health problems, which

An increase in reports has given rise to speculation of the relationship to artificial sweeteners combined with the increased risk of metabolic syndrome, type II diabetes, obesity, and heart attacks. The same health risks sweeteners were created to prevent are presently correlated to their use. In fact, an increase of 36% for metabolic syndromes and 67% for type II diabetes alone has occurred. Regular consumption of one diet coke per day for seven years could double the chance of cardiovascular diseases as well. The health problems artificial sweeteners cause are long-lasting on top of increasing a person’s average yearly medical

Coke is hiring scientists to "merchandise doubt" about the cause of obesity, claiming it has barely anything to do with consuming excess calories (for which sugary drinks of course play a role) and more to do with lack of exercise.

Another important weakness is that the company’s products are seen as a major cause of obesity. (Melser, 2013) The beverage sales are affected by various factors including change in trends and preferences. Recently, beverage sales have fallen because of people’s increased preference for the health drinks. Around the world, obesity is a major problem and the Coca Cola products are seen as a major cause of obesity. As people are getting health conscious they are moving towards low calorie healthy drinks. This affects coca cola’s profitability and popularity. However, the brand can overcome this situation by increasing the number of low calorie products in its brand portfolio. It will need to add more healthy choices for its customers in its product portfolio.

Coke Zero strongly point out “taste like a regular coke” in the ads and affection for the source resulting from physical appearance.

Coca-Cola has been around for generations with the same iconic taste, logo and symbolism. Its brand has represented family and the memories of good times, celebrations and comfort of being with those we love. Unfortunately, the company has not made good marketing decisions in the recent past and has lost relevancy. The purpose of this essay is to assess the conditions that created Coca-Colas marketing problems, evaluate the future of healthy beverages and non-carb drink brand extensions, and provide recommendations to the management.

Coca-Cola spends huge amounts of fund on marketing every year to remain its competitiveness. However, recently, Coca-Cola had a weak global growth. The sales volume of soda is not so satisfactory. Coke is claimed to have too many calories and sugar, thus being bad to health, as a result of which, consumers turn their attention to other drinks (Kell n. pag.).