Golmuri » Coca-Cola

Cost of no CSR!

rohit — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 17:18:03 +0000

how many think that csr is a waste? Coca-cola, the world’s largest beverages maker, should pay Rs 216 crore compensation for pollution and depleting groundwater, a Kerala government panel has said.
The nine-member committee, also recommended setting up of a tribunal and compensating the losses suffered by villagers in Plachimada, Palakkad district. The panel report, submitted to state water resources minister NK Premachandran in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday, held that besides heavy withdrawal of ground water, the bottling plant run by Coca-Cola’s bottling arm, Hindustan Coca Cola Beverages, had “inflicted harm on the farming and environment in the area” by dumping solid waste.
Sludge from the plant, supplied to farmers as fertiliser, contained dangerous levels of cadmium and lead, says the report, breaking up the damages into losses incurred under various heads between 1999 and 2004. While agricultural loss is pegged at Rs 84.16 crore, pollution of water resources is at Rs 62 crore, the cost of providing water is at Rs 20 crore, the damage to health at Rs 30 crore while wage loss and opportunity cost is at Rs 20 crore.
The plant was shut six years ago after protests against the company.
Coca-Cola, however, rejected the report. “It is unfortunate that the committee in Kerala was appointed on the unproven assumption that damage was caused and that it was caused by Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages,” a Coca-Cola spokesman said.
Rival beverages company PepsiCo has also come under fire in the state over water consumption by its plant, also in Palakkad district. Last week, a Kerala assembly panel had said the company should cut down the use of water by 60% at its bottling plant at Puducheri.
Denying the charges, a PepsiCo spokesman had said: “Palakkad is a model plant and is one of the most water efficient units in the PepsiCo system.”

rogues

Story behind Wrigley’s Chewing Gum!

rohit — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 10:41:52 +0000

Two of Wrigley’s now classic brands, Doublemint and Yellow Juicy (Fruit), grabbed the world’s attention at the Chicago Expo in 1893 courtesy of a young salesman named William Wrigley Jr.

Wrigley traveled from Philadelphia to Chicago in the spring of 1891. He was 29 years old, had $32 in his pocket and possessed endless enthusiasm.

His started his career trying to sell Wrigley’s Scouring Soap, which was produced in his father’s factory. Wrigley offered free gifts to merchants to increase sales, knowing that such freebies would induce his customers to promote Wrigley’s soap. One of these freebies was baking powder. When baking powder proved to be more popular than soap, Wrigley switched over to the baking powder business.

One day in 1892 Wrigley got the idea of offering two packages of chewing gum with each can of baking powder. The decision proved fateful, with the gum eventually overtaking the baking powder in popularity. Wrigley responded by reorienting the company to manufacture chewing gum.

Wrigley took his products to the Chicago Expo and soon people around the world had his gum in the palm of their hand. The company currently sells its products in over 180 countries and operates more than 10 factories all over the world.

This is how worlds most popular Chewing Gum brand was created. It is also true that every famous brand has a story behind it. Be it Coca Cola, Pepsi, Tata, IBM or Apple.

Rogues

Taxonomy in life: Branding of Everything!

rohit — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 15:15:49 +0000

How do you differentiate a common product from your favorite product? What is that makes your buying decision easier?
These questions were answered as early as 1300 B.C. Artisans used to put a mark on their products which made it different from others. In return the customers found it a reliable method to evaluate the products and thus giving birth to the concept of brand loyalty. This branding was passed on to many ancient products like watermarks on paper, bread marks and other crafted goods. Branding of products instilled a sense of security among the buyers and lead to flourishing of the best producer.

Let us conceptualize it:
1.      Make your product identifiable if you believe in your product
2.      Promote the identification mark to inform your customers
3.      Reap the benefits of increasing revenues!

The evolution of traditional branding:
Branding evolved steadily along with the evolution of industries. Tobacco manufacturers used different bags in 1800s with differentiable labels. This was because the flavor of tobacco varied significantly with the change of climate in which it is cultivated. To ensure that the customers got their favorite flavor, the companies branded the products based on the country produced in. Branding got a boost when countries initiated changes in trademark laws in favor of manufacturers. The modern branding started with the introduction of a star on candles produced by Procter & Gamble. Customers almost always asked for this star mark before buying candles. This forced the company to put this mark consistently on all their candles produced. Thus, a brand was born. Further, National biscuits, Heinz and Coca-Cola lead the branding game to astronomical levels. Today Coca-Cola’s brand value is more than $64 billion!

Which products can be branded?
The answer lies in the fact that any thing can be branded and is being branded and will be branded. Chinese silk, Indian Spices, German technology, Arabian horses and other regional products are associated with the country of origin. The bottled water industry is a classical example of branding. Bottles are branded based on the source of water like spring water, mountain water, glacier water, with each relating to different level of perceived purity of water. The air you breathe can also be differentiated like air of Beijing and air of Amazon. By the name people can evaluate the quality of air. Even the services provided by companies like Infosys, Taj Hotels and HSBC bank are used to distinguish certain products. Guess why do companies use brand ambassadors for branding?

Rogues