TO MANY of us, drinking a bottled beverage, whether it be Coca-Cola or some iced tea concoction or juice, is just about having the choice in the grocery chiller or sari-sari store refrigerator.
This may be so in our agri-based small and medium-scale enterprises that of late has been giving us a greater variety of thirst-quenchers. But not when it’s a multinational operation geared toward market excellence as Coca-Cola Femsa, the company that since four years ago has been bottling our favorite Coke products in the Philippines as well as offering non-carbonated beverages, dairy and soy-based products, and bottled water.
This is best illustrated by a visit at their Research and Development (R&D) center in Mexico City.
“We have 3,500 different products in the market,” said Robert Scott, Senior Director Global Packaging Development of The Coca-Cola Company based in Atlanta, Georgia.
“How many brands are happy with a US$1-billion brand,” he added, “And we here are thinking of US$20-billion, US$21-billion.”
It’s a whole different ballgame, indeed, in the multinational world.
While all we see is a bottle of Coke in different sizes and containers – PET bottles, glass bottles, and cans – the work that goes into it covers not just the beverage itself that with the changing times and focus on health and wellness has to be not just in stride, but leading the way; it also involves developing the containers that will bring the product to the market at the safest and most cost-effective way.
A lot of their research now is focused on improving PET bottles as well as developing their portfolios.
There is always a better way.
“There’s so much opportunity in the non-alcoholic space. We’re just scratching the surface,” Scott said. “There is a lot of growth and opportunities, I can spend the rest of my career here and still have more room to grow.”
In the Philippines, Coca-Cola Femsa has 19 plants all over the country.
“We have a lot opportunities in the Philippines. Water is doing well, non-carbonated beverages are doing very well and you see that in the advent of teas,” said Coca-Cola Femsa chief executive officer John Santa Maria.
Since taking over four years ago, it has been infusing US$180 to US$200-million a year just on capital as it continues to expand operations and coverage and modernize the market.
“The big challenge as in other capital market is how we serve this market at the right price, right category, and the right product,” he said.
Think: A US$21-billion brand with 3,500 products in the market and yet they are saying there is a lifetime of growth and opportunities that can be mined. This outlook alone spells the difference between the global mindset and a small-scale entrepreneur. That does not mean that a small player cannot step up, for as long as its vision goes beyond the boundaries of their small beginnings; maybe not as big as Coca-Cola Femsa, but just as successful, innovative, and forward-looking in a relative scale.
For an agri-based fertile land mass such as Mindanao, the opportunities can be endless.