How Coke and Pepsi plan to grow in the recession

Tonkin, from beverage consultancy HealthyBrandBuilders.com, tells Lorraine Heller that the firms are “re-engaging their businesses based on the current economic situation”. “As they look to the next couple of years they both have made very concerted efforts to convince their shareholders that money needs to continue to be spent against advertising and brand building.” CEO assurances Coca-Cola’s new chairman and CEO – Muhtar Kent – told shareholders at the firm’s annual meeting in April that “Coca-Cola is poised to grow in tough economic times, as it did during the Great Depression”. He told them that the company may miss its long-term growth targets a quarter or two this year, but that those will be met or exceeded over time. Pepsi’s new chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi said “PepsiCo’s operating agility and disciplined execution delivered solid results in a difficult year (2008)… We expect ’09 will present challenges but we are confident that our robust plans will enable us to navigate through the turbulence and will continue to aggressively grow sustainably and long-term.” In this podcast, Tonkin sheds some light on the plans the firms have in store, and where their focus will likely lie in the years ahead.

How Coke and Pepsi plan to grow in the recession

The two beverage giants Coca-Cola and PepsiCo will be driving their brands forward rather than shrinking back in the years ahead, treating the recession as a period for growth, says beverage analyst James Tonkin.

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