From distributing only sparkling soft drinks 20 years ago, we have broadened our portfolio significantly. Today, we also offer a wide range of still, flavored, and enhanced waters; juice and juice drinks; sports drinks; energy drinks; coffee-based beverages; and ready-to-drink teas. This transformation of our business reflects the changing needs of the consumers we serve. People are living longer, are leading more hectic lifestyles, and have an increased interest in well-being. They want more choice, more information, and more convenience.
In addition to broadening our range of beverages, we are enhancing the nutritional information we provide, helping consumers to make choices that are right for them. In particular, we work with parents and educators to ensure that we are providing young people with beverages and serving sizes that are appropriate for their ages.
A Wider Choice of Beverages
As we extend our portfolio, we have introduced a variety of new products and package sizes in 2008:
Water
We continue to expand the glacéau brand of waters, enhanced with vitamins, electrolytes, and natural flavors. After its launch in the United States, we launched smartwater, vitaminwater, and vitaminenergy in Canada and Great Britain in 2008. We are rolling out the brand to our mainland European territories, as well as introducing new flavors and package sizes, including the low-calorie vitaminwater10, in 2009.
In North America, we offer Dasani, our purified water brand, and launched Dasani essence, a line of unsweetened and zero-calorie waters that are lightly flavored, in 2009. In Europe, we offer natural mineral waters, including Chaudfontaine, Malvern, and Abbey Well – a new addition to our portfolio in 2008.
Juices and Juice Drinks
The FUZE range of all-natural juice and tea drinks is enhanced with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Each FUZE beverage has a specific function; for example, Slenderize contains 10 calories per serving and has natural ingredients that help promote weight loss.
In 2008, we extended our range of Campbell’s V8® single-serve 100 percent vegetable juices to include V8-Fusion 100 percent vegetable and fruit juices as well as V8® Splash juice drinks.
Lower-Calorie Beverages
In addition to the growing number of zero-calorie sparkling beverages, we expanded our portfolio in 2008 to include POWERADE Zero, the first sports drink in the marketplace with zero calories.
With the addition of these new beverages, we are changing the shape of our business. Regular sparkling beverages, including energy drinks, make up 56 percent of our business, with light sparkling and still beverages accounting for 44 percent of our beverage portfolio in 2008 (see chart on page 34).
As a result, the average calorie content by volume of our portfolio continues to decrease. In 2008, we reduced the average calorie content per 8oz serving to 59 calories, which is a three percent decrease since 2006.
Smaller Package Sizes
To help consumers manage their caloric intake, we are offering more of our beverages in smaller portion sizes. In the United States, we launched a new 12oz package for products, such as FUZE, glacéau, POWERADE, and Campbell’s single-serve juice beverages; and Minute Maid juice is now available in smaller 10oz packages. We are also increasing availability of the smaller 8oz cans for sparkling beverages, and will launch 100-calorie bottles in Canada in 2009.
Natural Ingredients
We are responding to increased consumer demand for more natural ingredients, fewer additives, and lower sugar content. For example, our glacéau and FUZE brands are naturally flavored and free of artificial colors and preservatives.
New developments in 2008 included the following:
- In the United States, we launched Sprite Green, a sparkling beverage made with the natural, zero-calorie sweetener Truvia.
- In Europe, we rolled out a new formulation of Fanta that contains 30 percent less sugar and has no artificial flavors or colors.
- We are also reformulating Fanta Orange and Apple with all natural flavors in the United States.
Additionally in 2008, we launched a campaign in Europe to highlight that our flagship brand Coca-Cola does not contain added preservatives or artificial flavors.
Facilitating Informed Choice
To help people make smarter beverage choices, we continue to enhance the information we provide about our beverages, their ingredients, and nutritional content.
In Europe, we have rolled out front-of-pack labels on more than 95 percent of applicable packages, based on the Guideline Daily Amounts. These clearly show the calorie content of the beverage — both per serving and as part of a guideline daily caloric intake. Sugar, fat, saturates, and salt content are shown in the same way on the reverse of packages.
In 2009, we will launch similar labels in North America. In addition to informing our consumers, we need to educate our employees. In 2009, we will launch Fit for the Future Academy, a program designed to teach our employees about our beverages, healthy diets, and active lifestyles.
Responsible Sales and Marketing
Parents and educators are understandably concerned about the diets and caloric intake of today’s children, especially in light of rising levels of obesity. We are working to ensure that our sales and marketing practices address these concerns appropriately.
In all of our territories, we have championed landmark industry policies on responsible sales and marketing. These have been the first such guidelines in the food and beverage industry in North America and Europe, and they support broad health partnerships. In the United States, the American Beverage Association guidelines support the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, a partnership between the William J. Clinton Foundation and the American Heart Association. In Europe, the commitments of our beverage industry association, Union of European Beverages Associations (UNESDA), support the European Union’s Platform for Action on Diet, Physical Activity, and Health, a major public-private partnership to combat obesity. Since these guidelines were developed with input from local educators, parents, and government agencies, they vary in focus. In the United States and Canada, the guidelines limit the caloric content of all beverages sold in schools; they also specify appropriate beverages for elementary and secondary schools. In Europe, sparkling soft drinks are not marketed in elementary schools, while in middle and secondary schools, parents and educators help identify suitable beverage choices.
We are working hard to implement these guidelines. We have trained our sales force, revised contracts with schools, reformulated products and vending machines, developed tracking mechanisms, and conducted monthly management reviews to ensure success. In the United States, the beverage industry has reduced beverage calories in schools by 58 percent since 2007.
Our goal is to achieve 100 percent compliance with these guidelines by the 2009—2010 school year in every country where we operate:
- In the United States, 90 percent of schools with whom we conduct business were in compliance, more than double the number a year earlier.
- In Canada, we reached 75 percent compliance with Refreshments Canada’s Guidelines in Schools.
- In Europe, 94 percent of the total European beverage industry is no longer marketing sparkling soft drinks in elementary schools.
Media Advertising
Our partner, The Coca-Cola Company, is largely responsible for consumer marketing. During 2008, the company strengthened its longstanding policies about marketing to children. The Coca-Cola Company also supports industry advertising initiatives in each country where we operate.
Supporting Healthy Lifestyles
Our support of healthy lifestyles goes beyond the beverages we produce and the way we market them. We also promote active lifestyles, supporting sports and fitness programs at a grassroots level everywhere we operate.
In 2008, we helped launch a major new initiative to get young Canadians up and moving. The SOGO Active program, launched with Canada’s national authority on active lifestyles and The Coca-Cola Company, uses a network of communitybased organizations to make sports and fitness activities more accessible to young people (see case study below).
We support a wide range of sports and fitness programs. These include the Minute Maid Schools Cup in Great Britain, which, with 40,000 boys and girls participating each year, is the largest school soccer tournament in Europe. In the Netherlands, 150,000 young people take part in our Mission Olympic program, the biggest youth sports activity in the country. We adopt a localized approach in France, offering activities that are targeted toward particular communities, such as the Rennes by Night program, where playing fields and swimming pools are open until 3 a.m. to encourage participation among inner-city teenagers.
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