Coca Cola Case Study

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Coca-Cola Case Study |

International Business |

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Samantha Michael |

3/6/2014 |

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Summary of Facts.

In 1886 a pharmacist in Atlanta, Georgia under the name of John Pemberton, created and sold a “syrup mixed with fountain water as a potion for mental and physical disorders.” After shifting hands three times, the formula landed in the hands of Asa D. Candler who included carbonation to the mix. In 1887 Coca-Cola was registered as a trademark and by 1895 it “was being sold in every state and territory in the United States. Coca-Cola is headquartered in Atlanta with numerous “divisions and local operations in over 200 countries worldwide”. Until 1977, Coca-Cola was leading the soft drink industry in India. That was until the company decided to pull out of the country rather than reveal the companies formula. After an absence of 16-years Coca-Cola returned to India in 1993.

On August 5th, 2003 The Center for Science and the Environment issued a slanderous news release that stated: “12 major cold drink brands sold in and around Delhi contain a deadly cocktail of pesticide residue.” The pesticides found included “lindane, DDT, malathion and chlorpyrifos” which are agents that have been “known to cause cancer, damage to the nervous and reproductive systems, birth defects, and severe disruption of the immune system.”

Soon thereafter, all Coke and Pepsi products were banned in Parliament and state governments began sending soft drink samples to labs for testing. CEO Sanjiv Gupta of Coca-Cola India argued that science was flawed. Pepsi and Cola claimed the CSE’s allegations were “baseless” and questioned the method of testing used by the CSE.

Statement of Problem. How can Coca-Cola restore the company’s reputation as a strong entity that not only values financial success, but also social responsibility?

A major problem for Coca-Cola

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