"Soda Wars" This essay is about Coca-Cola in the International market

Essay by spudnick1High School, 12th gradeA, November 2002

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Coca-Cola, which sold 10 billion cases of soft-drinks in 1992, and Pepsi now find themselves asking, "Where will sales of the next 10 billion cases come from?" The answer lies overseas, where income levels and appetites for Western products are at an all time high.

Often, the company that gets into a foreign market first usually dominates that country's market. Coke patriarch Robert Woodruff realized this 50 years ago and unleashed a brilliant ploy or in a way a very simple global strategy to make Coke the early bird in many of the major foreign markets. At the height of World War II, Woodruff proclaimed that "Wherever American boys were fighting, they'd be able to get a Coke. By the time Pepsi tried to make its first international pitch in the 50s, Coke had already established its brand name and a powerful distribution network.

During the last 40 years, many new markets have emerged.

In order to profit from these markets, both Coke and Pepsi need to find ways to cut through all of the red tape that initially prevents them from conducting business in these markets.

One key movement for the soda wars occurred in Europe in 1972, Pepsi signed an agreement with the Soviet Union, which made it the first Western product to be sold to consumers in Russia. This landmark agreement gave Pepsi the first advantage. Presently, Pepsi has 23 plants in the former Soviet Union and is the leader in the soft-drink industry in Russia. Pepsi outsells Coca-Cola by 6 to 1 and is seen as a local brand, similar to Coke's reputation in Japan. However, Pepsi has also had some problems. There has not been an increase in brand loyalty for Pepsi since its advertising blitz in Russia, even though it has produced commercials...