Ch. 11 - Developing and Managing Products

     Since Coca-Cola has been around for well over a century, and at times it may seem that Coke has not changed at all in recent years. However, it is quite the opposite. Coca-Cola is long into the maturity phase of it's product life cycle, and cannot maintain it's 50% soft drink market share without research and developing their products to better fit consumer needs.

     Currently, Coca-Cola is developing miniature shops called Ekocenters that they will construct in the town centers of underdeveloped countries. These shops are currently in the pilot phase and cost around $100,000 to develop and will provide vital resources, such as clean water, food, vaccines, and of course Coke products, to the communities that they serve. These services will be provided either for free, or at a low cost. Setting up these centers have numerous advantages for the Coca-Cola company. Firstly, they will increase the market share of the company in the communities they are placed in. Also, when these markets further develop, the people who got their clean water and hot food from these shops will possess a high level of brand loyalty to Coke. Lastly these shops are generating good press for Coke.