Coca-Cola is a popular soft drink invented in the 19th century and manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company, one of the largest manufacturer and distributor of soft drinks and beverages in the world. Coca Cola was first created by one John Pemberton but later sold to Asa Griggs Candler who made it a household brand over the last century.
Coca Cola is a world market leader and currently boasts of over forty eight percent market share. In the United States for example, it has a market of over $57 billion and there are no urgent signs of this share slumping. It commands over 45% of the market in the United States and over 50 per cent in China and Europe. Coca-Cola introduced its first brand extension a hundred years after it had hit the market.
Coke Diet was introduced a few years ago and continues to ride in the fame of the parent drink; Coke. Others that have been introduced are soft drinks such as Diet Coke caffeine-Free, brought into the market in 1983. There is also Coca-Cola Zero and Cherry Coke. There are also a number of line extensions such as Vanilla Coke and Lemon Coke, Coca-Cola Citra among others .Line extension simply refers to a tactic by marketers to introduce products that are closely related but differ slightly for example in size, color, and taste amongst others just to give the consumers access to different looks of the same product. Brand extension refers to a strategy where a firm introduces new products using or associating them with a brand name that is well established.
A future venture for Coca-Cola should be into the low alcoholic drinks, a field that has tremendous room for growth. The Coca-Cola brand has a strong image and is well established in the market. By introducing low alcoholic drinks, it will be catering for a new market and yet riding on the popularity of the Coca-Cola brand name. An example of such a drink would be “Coke Light” or “Coke Lager”.
References
- Keller, K.L, 1998. Strategic Brand Management: Building, Measuring, and Managing Brand Equity. Prentice-Hall International, Hemel Hempstead.
- Mark Pendergrast, 2000. For God, Country and Coca-Cola. Basic Books.
