Will Coca-Cola or Pepsi Win The Soda War?

Among the major soda purveyors, it's understandable to consider Coca-Cola  (NYSE: KO  ) and PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP  ) as one-and-the-same. After all, their namesake sparkling beverages have competed against each other for decades, and together they've dominated the soda business.

  

As it happens, though, the present day represents a vastly different place in terms of consumer preferences. Consumers, particularly in the United States, are more health-conscious than ever. The demand for lower-calorie, less-sugary beverages is rippling through the soda industry, and the end result is stagnating case volume shipments for the twin industry heavyweights.

One of the two titans of soda has acknowledged this trend and charted a different course, while the other has no plans to be anything but a sparkling beverage company. That's why, as it appears to me, there's a clear winner of the soda wars. Read more.

The Coca-Cola Company declares “zero tolerance” for land grabs in supply chain

Coca-Cola Company to take steps to stop land grabs from happening in its supply chain after more than 225,000 people signed petitions and took action as part of Oxfam’s campaign to urge food and beverage companies to respect community land rights.

The company committed its bottlers to do the same. The Coca-Cola Company also said it will do sweeping social and environmental assessments across its supply chains beginning with Colombia, Guatemala and Brazil, then moving on to India, South Africa and other countries, and that it will publicly reveal its biggest sugarcane suppliers.

PepsiCo and Associated British Foods (ABF), the two other targets of Oxfam’s campaign, have yet to address the issues highlighted by Oxfam’s report, Nothing Sweet About It.

“Today one of the biggest companies in the world stood up to take greater responsibility for the impacts of its operations,” said Raymond C. Offenheiser, President of Oxfam America. “Coca-Cola has taken an important step to show consumers and the communities it relies upon that it aims to be a part of the solution to land grabs. This will resonate throughout the industry.” Read more.

Coca Cola Pushes into China

As reported to Bloomberg, beverage maker The Coca-Cola Company (KO) has plans to invest more than $4 billion in China from 2015 to 2017 to combat the rising competition in the soft drinks market. The company has also introduced new products and intends to build new plants to meet the growing demand of Chinese consumers.

The cola giant is ramping up its investment in China as the company and its bottlers seek to double global revenues to $200 billion in 10 years ending 2020. This investment of $4 billion is in addition to the previous investment plan of $4 billion for China for the year 2012-2014.

Coca-Cola is also interested in acquisition deals in China and may add healthier drinks in its portfolio such as juice making companies or plant-protein drinks like almond milk. Read more.

Coca-Cola says to invest over $4 billion in China in 2015-2017

The Coca-Cola Co (KO) said it will invest over $4 billion in China and build new plants between 2015 and 2017, to counter competition which is chipping away at its share of the country's 421 billion yuan ($69.12 billion) soft drinks market.

The investment will add to the $4 billion that the world's largest drinks maker has earmarked for China in 2012-2014, said Asia-based spokeswoman Sharolyn Choy, confirming a Bloomberg report earlier on Friday. The beverage maker is also open to deals with local firms, Choy said. Analysts said this could help it play the trend in China toward more local-style herbal teas and healthier drinks.

Chinese consumers are increasingly opting for healthier alternatives in food and drink, which has hit growth for fast food chains such as McDonald's Corp (MCD) and KFC-parent Yum Brands Inc (YUM). Read more.