Businessweek

The Coca-Cola Company operates as a beverage company. The company owns or licenses and markets approximately 500 nonalcoholic beverage brands, primarily sparkling beverages and also various still beverages, such as waters, enhanced waters, juices and juice drinks, ready-to-drink teas and coffees, and energy and sports drinks. The company owns and markets nonalcoholic sparkling beverage brands, such as Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Fanta, and Sprite. Finished beverage products bearing its trademarks are sold in the United States and in approximately 200 countries. The company makes its branded beverage products available to consumers worldwide through its network of company-owned or -controlled bottling and distribution operations, as well as independent bottling partners, distributors, wholesalers, and retailers. Segments As of December 31, 2012, the company’s operating segments included Eurasia and Africa; Europe; Latin America; North America; Pacific; and Bottling Investments. Products and Brands The company manufactures, markets, and sells beverage concentrates and syrups, including fountain syrups; and finished sparkling and still beverages. It sells concentrates and syrups to authorized bottling and canning operations. The company’s bottling partners either combine the concentrates with sweeteners (depending on the product), still water, and/or sparkling water, or combine the syrups with sparkling water to produce finished beverages. The finished beverages are packaged in authorized containers bearing its trademarks or trademarks licensed to the company, such as cans and refillable and nonrefillable glass and plastic bottles, and are then sold to retailers directly, or in some cases, through wholesalers or other bottlers. Outside the United States, the company also sells concentrates for fountain beverages to its bottling partners who are authorized to manufacture fountain syrups, which they sell to fountain retailers, such as restaurants and convenience stores, which use the fountain syrups to produce beverages for consumption, or to fountain wholesalers who in turn sell and distribute the fountain syrups to fountain retailers. The company’s finished product operations consist primarily of the production, sales, and distribution operations managed by Coca-Cola Refreshments (CCR) and its company-owned or -controlled bottling and distribution operations. CCR is included in its North America operating segment, and its company-owned or -controlled bottling and distribution operations are included in its Bottling Investments operating segment. The company sells sparkling beverages and various still beverages, such as juices and juice drinks, energy and sports drinks, ready-to-drink teas and coffees, and certain water products, to retailers or to distributors, wholesalers, and bottling partners who distribute them to retailers. In addition, in the United States, the company manufactures fountain syrups and sells them to fountain retailers, such as restaurants and convenience stores who use the fountain syrups to produce beverages for consumption, or to authorized fountain wholesalers or bottling partners who resell the fountain syrups to fountain retailers. In the United States, it authorizes wholesalers to resell its fountain syrups. Majority of the company’s branded beverage products, primarily outside of North America, are manufactured, sold, and distributed by independent bottling partners. Pursuant to license agreements with Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Inc. (DPS), the company distributes certain DPS brands in designated territories in the United States and Canada. In 2012, the company invested in the beverage business of Aujan Industries Company J.S.C. (Aujan), an independent beverage company in the Middle East. As a result of this transaction, the company acquired 50 percent of the Aujan entity that holds the rights to Aujan-owned brands, including Rani, a juice brand, and Barbican, a flavored malt beverage brand, in certain territories. During 2012, the company introduced various new brands, brand extensions, and new beverage products. The company launched Fuze Tea, a new international tea brand,