As part of its global portfolio refresh, the Coca-Cola Company has declared that it will quit further brands including Tab diet soda.
Earlier this month, Coca-Cola proclaimed that it would discontinue Zico Coconut Water and reconsider the future of other brands such as Coke Life as part of this game plan.
As a result of this review, Coca-Cola has made it public that by 31st Dec., Tab diet soda, Coca-Cola Life, Delaware Punch, Diet Coke Feisty Cherry, Northern Neck Ginger Ale, and international brands Vegitabeta (Japan) and Kuat (Brazil) will be ceased.
The company had already notified earlier this year about the retirement of the Odwalla juice and smoothie brand, while its chilled direct store delivery supply network was also terminated.
The step has been taken as Coca-Cola wants to refocus its beverage portfolio to augment high-growth local, regional and international brands. For example, the company stated that discontinuing the Odwalla range of products “frees up resources to finance in developing trademarks such as Minute Maid and Simply, and fund the launch of creations such as Aha flavoured sparkling water, Coca-Cola Energy, and Topo Chico Hard Seltzer.”
In August, the company announced that it is planning to run this optimization strategy through a major business restructure, smoothening its functions into 9 operating units and instituting 5 ‘global category leads’: The Coca-Cola brand; Sparkling Flavors; Nutrition, Juice, Milk and Plant; Hydration, Sports, Coffee and Tea; and Emerging Categories.
Cath Coetzer, global head of innovation and marketing operations at The Coca-Cola Company stated- “We’re challenging ourselves to think uniquely about our brands to boost our transformation to a total beverage firm.”
He further said- “This isn’t about cutting down to a specific number of product offerings under our brands. The aim is to run impact and development. It’s about continuing to follow the consumer and being very considerate in choosing which of our brands are most worthy of our fundings and resources, and also taking the challenging but important steps to recognize those products that are becoming irrelevant and therefore should exit the portfolio.”
Coca-Cola CEO and chairman, James Quincey said- “This is a golden chance for us to speed up the re-arrangement of the portfolio that was an ongoing requirement, and actually bring all of that to accomplishment in a much shorter timeframe.
“We feel that it will set us up with more power behind stronger brands as we come out of this calamity.”