Coca-Cola took one step back a few years ago by acquiring large pieces of its bottling operations. Now the company plans to take two steps forward by handing back big chunks of its bottling system to selected independent bottlers as part of Coke's overall creation of a national bottling and distribution system that will give it far more control over sales, distribution and balancing of its brands.

Specifically, Coke disclosed a rough framework for handing off distribution in certain geographic areas to five established, independent bottlers either through an outright sale, a swap of territory or other arrangements. Closings, after more negotiations, are expected by year-end.

"We are intent to make the necessary changes in the format and architecture of production to achieve ... a coast-to-coast, nationally run production system," Coke CEO Muhtar Kent said on Tuesday's earnings call, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Under the new arrangements, the bottlers will be able to take part in that model by purchasing trucks, coolers and other equipment to distribute the products in their territories, the newspaper said. The national model also will enable Coke to be more responsive to large customers like Walmart because the company can make centralized sales and marketing decisions. PepsiCo similarly concentrated its bottling operations three years ago but Coke has moved first on the next step.Continue reading...

Coca-Cola is getting more serious about its anti-obesity efforts, and the U.K. is the newest market on the receiving end. Coke began airing ads about "energy balance" and calorie content in Great Britain last evening and, among other steps, has replaced Sprite across the country with a new reduced-calorie version of Sprite that is sweetened by Stevia.

The actions, of course, follow on the advertising that Atlanta-based Coke aired in the U.S. earlier this year as part of its campaign to get consumers to "Be OK" with the simple equation that weight loss or gain is determined by calories consumed plus physical activity.

In Coke's first spot on U.K. television on Wednesday, titled "Coming Together," the company reminded viewers "that all calories count in managing weight, including those in Coca-Cola's products and brands," as the company said on its Web site.

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When Jon Stewart and Bill O’Reilly faced off Saturday in a mock debate, the topic of whether the government should decide what size soda consumers should drink was brought up and summarily dismissed, but there are plenty of other folks — like New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg — who aren’t letting the issue go.

The just-passed law that Bloomberg pushed to help keep New Yorkers healthy by making it illegal to sell sodas larger than 16 oz. in many New York establishments will go into effect on March 12. And Bloomberg isn’t alone. A soda-tax measure was put on the ballot in Richmond, California, that would discourage consumers from drinking soda and collect money through a soda tax “for neighborhood gardens, recreation and other youth projects that would help fight childhood obesity,” BeyondChron.com reports.

Sick of being called a bad guy in the war against obesity, the American Beverage Association (and the soda giants it represents) today launched a "Calories Count" vending machine program that will start being distributed in the new year. The ABA's new initiative will help consumers identify lower-calorie sodas in vending machines by placing soda calorie counts right on the buttons of vending machines.Continue reading...

GM abruptly ousts CMO Joel Ewanick over details of Manchester United sponsorship deal and future of GM's new Commonwealth agency relationship is questioned, while automaker also found to be making risky sub-prime loans.

Apple case against Samsung carries implications for its gripes against Google, as report says Apple discussed investing in Twitter.

Avon CEO is requested to meet with federal prosecutors.

Best Buy founder reportedly mounting a buyback effort.

Chili's touts lunch menu in new video campaign.

Coca-Cola reorganizes and ramps up marketing of Sprite to Millennials.Continue reading...

Neiman Marcus and Target join brands for unusual Christmas collaboration: 50 limited-edition American designer items, plus $1M donation to the CFDA.

Starbucks rolls out low-cal Refreshers drinks.

Marks & Spencer fires clothing head following worst sales in three years.

American Airlines and U.S. Airways keep dancing around a merger.

Apple removes green electronics certification from products.

Chase launches Chase Liquid reloadable card.

Coca-Cola takes stake in Mexican juice company Jugos del Valle.

Conde Nast confirms London location of namesake fashion college.

DirecTV could drop 26 Viacom channels in dispute.

Dodge places major ad push behind new Dart.Continue reading...

When you’ve got more than 1.2 billion residents, marketers want you in the worst way. And so Coca-Cola is going big-time after the Indian market, upping its investment there by $3 billion to a whopping $5 billion through 2020. That means the next time you go to there to climb the world’s third-highest mountain, Kanchenjunga, or visit with the Dalai Lama, a Coke product shouldn’t be too far away from your grasp.

According to Fox Business, the money will go toward helping Coca-Cola's India subsidiary expand “its distribution network, cold drink equipment placement and manufacturing capacity.” The company had a good first quarter with earnings rising 7.9% and revenue going up almost 6%. In India, though, the company had a 20% increase. Not too shabby. In fact, sales have gone up in India for 23 straight quarters and Coke’s Thums Up and Sprite are the two leading soft-drink brands there, Fox reports.

"Achieving continued sustainable, responsible growth in India is core to achieving our 2020 Vision of doubling system revenues in this decade," said Muhtar Kent, chairman and CEO of the Coca-Cola Company in a press release. "Our ongoing investment in India is focused on delivering innovation, partnerships and a portfolio that enhances the consumer experience, ensures product affordability and builds brand loyalty to deliver long-term growth."Continue reading...

While they suffer from even more ignominy under a new glare induced by the HBO documentary series The Weight of the Nation, the roundly condemned purveyors of "junk" salt, sugar and calories aren't exactly lying low and saying their mea culpas. McDonald's, Coca-Cola and 7-Eleven are each fighting back in their own way.

Coca-Cola has launched a test of its own new "mid-calorie" sodas to join PepsiCo in trying once again the concept of a "hybrid" diet/non-diet drink even though other attempts by both companies to mine a moderately-minded market have failed. Coke plans to test Sprite Select and Fanta Select products this summer — with only half the calories, 70 of regular drinks per 12-ounce can — in test markets in Atlanta, Detroit, Louisville and Memphis.

Interestingly, Coke's new toe in the mid-calorie water will depend on a blend of sugar: Cargill's Truvia brand of natural sweetener stevia plus erythritol, a "sugar alcohol" (unlike the ingredients in PepsiCo's new, nationally available mid-cal, Pepsi Next, which includes sucralose and high-fructose corn syrup). That gives Coke a leg up on an "more natural" claim it might want to make for select beverages against Next.Continue reading...

When the news came out of the state of California a year ago that the stuff that makes your cola beverage brown has been linked to cancer, there were a number of consumers that likely didn’t put their change into the vending machine that day.

The amount of that compound (4-methylimidazole, or 4-MEI) in soda would cause the state to need to put warning labels on all of its cans, NPR reports. This, in turn, led to the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) to lobby the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to “ban ammonia-sulfite caramel color,” according to NPR. Coke Clear, anyone?

While the cola companies and caramel manufacturers are obviously stating that there is no validity to these claims, the FDA is also chiming in that this could be much ado about not much. In any event, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, which account for almost 90% of the U.S. soda market, have tweaked their formulas in compliance with the Californian law — averting the need to add a cancer warning label.Continue reading...