Bangkok--13 Sep--Hill Knowlton Strategies Thailand
• Coca-Cola set to evolve recipes and enlarge portfolios to meet fast-changing consumer needs.
• ASEAN continues to be key growth driver as company moves towards becoming a total beverage company.
By placing consumer needs at the heart of growth strategies and encouraging its employees to take calculated risks, Coca-Cola's new CEO says the company is on-track to becoming a 'total beverage company'.
Speaking at the ASEAN town hall meeting in his recent visit to Thailand, James Quincey, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Coca-Cola Company reemphasizes the strategic imperative of transforming the company into a total beverage company by quickly evolving product portfolio to meet the diverse and fast-changing consumer needs. While innovation and digitalization are clearly key enablers, consumer centricity remains the most critical success factor.
"The world is changing and with our 131-year history, we see this as an opportunity as a business to continue our leadership and evolve to meet the requirements of our consumers around the world today, including Thailand. Through this long-term, consumer-centric strategy, Coca-Cola is offering more low-to-no-sugar products and increasing availability of smaller packages globally. We want to continue to be part of our consumer's everyday lives by giving them new experiences and enabling them to control sugar consumption as per their individual need," said Quincey.
Coca-Cola have already begun this transformation process globally, through the evolution of over 500 product recipes, while maintaining the same great tastes that consumers have grown to love. In Thailand, the recent launch of "Coke Zero No Sugar" – with an improved recipe that delivers original Coca-Cola taste - reaffirms this new company direction.
Blessed with growing middle class and sustained GDP growth, Thailand and ASEAN markets will continue to play an important role for the company globally. In Thailand, Coca-Cola's business will continue to operate under The Coca-Cola system where Coca-Cola has long-term partnerships with the two bottlers – ThaiNamthip and Haad Thip. Both have state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities, extensive distribution coverage and relationships with customers to accelerate the sustainable growth for this new and innovative ecosystem. Not only for Coca-Cola, but for partners and suppliers in its value chain.
"As the market leader, it was time to reaffirm our commitment to our consumers, by providing innovations and reinventing our portfolios, to meet their specific needs. We believe this creativity and innovation are crucial to lead to true change and ongoing business success, here and around the world," concluded Quincey.