Coca-Cola India - Case Study Example

Case study: Coca Cola, India Case study: Coca Cola, India At Coca-cola India, the company focuses on refreshing the world, inspiring moments, and creating value that makes a difference. The coca-cola India has adopted its 6p’s: people, portfolio, partners, planet, profit, and profit, which guide the winning mission of the company. Coca-cola Company constitutes one of the American multinational corporations dealing with manufacturing, retailing, and marketing of non-alcoholic beverage (Banerjee, 2009).

The company is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, but has done vast investments in other countries including India. For more than 100 years, coca-cola has maintained the leading position in demand for soft drinks in the industry. The company made its entry into India through Coca-Cola India Private Limited; Coca-Cola India PVT is a wholly owned subsidiary of the company. In 19963, the company re-launched coca-cola two years after opening up the Indian economy (Banerjee, 2009). Since the re-launch of Coca-Cola in 1963, the company’s operations have increased rapidly.

Coca-Cola Company uses a model that supports bottling operations that are both locally and company owned. Indian distributors are approximately 7000 while retailers are 2.2million. This wide distribution network has made Coca-Cola products a leading brand in most of the beverage segments. Coca-Cola India produces a variety of brands including Coca-Cola, Limca, Thumbs Up, Kinley, Minute Maid, Fanta Orange, Sprite, Burn, Maaza and Vitingo. The authorized bottlers are engaged in independent development markets for these products and distribute them to grocers, small retailers, restaurants, and supermarkets.

In addition to USD 2 billion that Coca-Cola has already invested in India, there are plans for investing additional USD 5 billion by the year 2020 (Banerjee, 2009). Coca-Cola’s operations in India has not been streamlined despite huge investments. One of the crisis in the company’s history in India revolves involves August 5, 2003 attack. The Centre for Science and Environment, an activist group comprising of engineers, environmentalists, scientists, and journalists attacked coca-cola citing evidence of unsafe products in the company’s beverages (Banerjee, 2009).

The press release stated that Coca-Cola India’s twelve major brands sold in Dheli contained deadly cocktail pesticide pesticides. The accusation caused fear concerning the sustainability of Coca-Coca Company in India and the safety of its products. This incidence had significant implications on the company’s profitability, corporate reputation, and image. Coca-Cola solved the issue by explaining that the there were no standards for manufacture of soft drinks in India, European Union and United States.

However, the company used water that was within the required standards set by the Bureau of Indian Standards for manufacturing of its beverages. The company also argued that they test groundwater for traces of pesticides in groundwater to the level of parts per billion (Banerjee, 2009). The company also defended itself against the claims by stating that in India, like any other part of the world, its plants use barrier system to remove all potential contaminants and unwanted natural substances such as heavy metals, iron and sulfur.

According to Coca-Cola Company management, their beverages are safe and are regularly taken through tests to ensure they meet the rigorous standards maintained across the world. The company regained its market share after the crisis, and it is currently doing well in the Indian market. ReferenceBanerjee, N. (2009). The real thing: Cokes bumpy ride through India. Kolkata: Frontpage.