Coca-Cola in India

Coca-Cola is a brand name known throughout the entire world. With stagnant soft drink sales in markets like Europe and North America, Coca-Cola has aggressively looked to new, expanding markets to continue to grow its brand. India, with 1.2 billion consumers, has been a primary target for Coca-Cola; through acquisitions and clever marketing, the company now covers 60 percent of India's $1 billion soft drink market.

Coca-Cola's expansion in India has not been without minor setbacks, however. In 2006-2007, Coca-Cola faced some difficult challenges in the region of Kerala, India, after it was accused of using water that contained pesticides in its bottling plants. An environmental group, the Center for Science and Environment (CSE), found 57 bottles of Coke and Pepsi products from 12 Indian states that contained unsafe levels of pesticides.[1] The Kerala minister of health, R. Ashok, imposed a ban on the manufacture and sale of Coca-Cola products in the region. Coca-Cola then arranged to have its drinks tested in a British lab, and the report found that the amount of pesticides found in Pepsi and Coca-Cola drinks was harm- less to the body.[2] Coca-Cola then ran numerous ads to regain consumers' confidence in its products and brand. However, these efforts did not satisfy the environmental groups or the minister of health.

INSTRUCTIONS: As you have read the enclosed case study regarding Coca-Cola in India, please answer the following questions in paragraph form utilizing complete sentences. Make sure that your responses are correct in terms of spelling, punctuation, and grammar before uploading. Your work must be at least 8 pages in length, double spaced, 12 New Times Roman. Do not forget to include a cover page for your work. Question 1: What are the charges Coca-Cola is facing in India? Are you of the opinion that they are ethical or unethical, and why? Question 2: Which consequences are being caused by these charges? Would you agree that Pepsi and other soft drink investments in India present Coca-Cola with additional dilemmas? Why? Question 3: What steps has Coca-Cola taken to resolve these charges? Question 4: In what ways does Coca-Colas business strategy differ as a result of global water challenges and economic fluctuations? Question 5: Coca Colas difficulties in India may have been due to various aspects of the differences between American and Indian culture. How are the cultural differences may have played a role? Question 6: What sustainability issues will Coca-Cola have to consider if it wishes to gain more market share in Indias soft drink market? Question 7: In what way is the global economic, socio-cultural, and sustainability trend posing a challenge to Indias market? How can they turn these challenges into business opportunities (see information from table 1 and Figure 1,2)? Question 8: How can multinational companies like Coca-Cola and PepsiCo demonstrate their commitment to working with different cultures, while respectfully preserving the cultural and natural environments of these countries?