Coca-Cola wants 'to be everywhere'

Diversified portfolio

A report from the China Industrial Information Issuing Center said that the beverage industry has experienced soaring growth since 2000, with an annual growth rate of more than 20.7 percent. The increasing awareness among Chinese consumers of a healthy lifestyle has contributed to the rising proportion of healthy drinks, including water and juice, among all beverage categories in 2012.

While some beverage giants have fought for healthy-drink markets, Coca-Cola's global strategy has focused on having an all-around beverage strategy that includes both sparkling and nonsparkling drinks, with innovation in new products.

In China, the company has a portfolio of 20 varieties of beverages, with more than 50 flavors in sparkling drinks, juices, tea, drinking water and others. Coca-Cola has a leading position in the sparkling-drink business, with Fanta as its fastest growing brand, and in still beverages, such as Minute Maid orange juice.

In 2012, the total transactions of Coca-Cola products recorded a 7 percent growth in China, with the sparkling-drink business up 6 percent, an indicator of an increase in repeat purchases.

This year, Brooks said, Coca-Cola will continue to focus on providing value through differentiated packaging and innovation, and on driving transaction growth ahead of unit-case growth to build closer contact with its consumers.