Reference no: EM133537333
Case: For this individual assignment, you will be sending a memo to James Quincey, CEO Coca-Cola Corporation (Coke) and their Executive Team. Coke is working with your consulting firm on its strategic growth initiatives, and you have been asked to submit an initial response to their questions.
Coke requested your insight and perspective on the beverage industry as a first step in determining their consulting partner. Geographic scope of the work includes the beverage industry in the US market.
Coke has asked your firm to help identify the best categories for future innovation and growth. Coke wants to know which categories in the beverage industry (such as kombucha, carbonated water, energy drinks, bottled water, tea, coffee, milk, juice, etc.) your firm believes they should invest in via acquisition, R & D and promotion in the next 5 years. Which categories shows the most promise and opportunity for Coca-Cola Corporation in the US?
Since Quincy assumed the CEO role in 2015, Coke's focus is on customer centricity, innovation and executing a total beverage strategy. Coke is committed to fostering growth in multiple categories, not just concentrating on the declining carbonated soft drinks (CSD's) market. However, Coke has been immensely successful in the carbonated soft drink category with 43.2% market share, with Pepsi declining to 25%.
The Harvard Business Review Case "Coca-Cola: Preparing for the Next 100 Years" provides the history of Coke, some data on the beverage industry, competitors, and category consumption. You will need to also use the industry reports below to help inform your recommendation. One of your challenges as future businesspeople will be to utilize the immense amount of data available to make informed decisions. Not all data is timely, accurate or precisely in a format you desire. Reading the reports and familiarizing yourself with ALL the information will provide foundational knowledge of the beverage industry. You will also need to utilize 2 additional sources to support your recommendation.
Note that the reports from MarketLine and Statista may have some conflicting information, and differing definitions of categories and projections for growth of the market and categories. This is common in using syndicated information. Additionally, the reports contain forecasts and projections, along with actual historical sales. Forecasts are simply predictions based on insights, environmental cues and trends. The additional sources you utilize should inform your recommendation.
Your memo should:
Begin with an executive summary of no more than two paragraphs that provides an overview of your report's main points. As a thesis statement, state your recommendation for two categories Coke should focus on and invest in. Title this section "Executive Summary."
Demonstrate your knowledge of the US beverage industry, its size, growth history, key trends and Coke's position in the market Title this section "Beverage Industry". It should be second in your memo.
Demonstrate insight about the two categories you have chosen to identify as high potential for future investment for Coca-Cola. Title this section "Selected Category Performance". It should be third in your memo. Provide detailed rationale as to why this is your recommendation. This should include size of the categories, growth history plus consumption and social trends supporting your recommendations.
Provide market share data of key players in the categories selected.
Title this section "Competitive Set in Selected Categories". This section should be just before your conclusion or closing.
Provide a concluding paragraph where you reiterate your findings and suggest next steps.