Seeing that summer is coming, is your icy "Fat House Happy Water" ready? Recently, Hangzhou Ren Xiaoshou, who likes to brush short videos, has successively brushed several news about the price increase of cola. "Four or five a day, the content is similar. Maybe big data found out that I was a Coke fan. Xiaoshou said, "These news can be summed up in one sentence, and 3.5 yuan of Coke will not be available in the future!" ”
"Brushed once, didn't feel anything, brushed several times, immediately ordered 20 bottles." Xiaoshou said that he placed an order on the Hema App, a 500ml bottle of Coca-Cola is 3.5 yuan a bottle, and a combination of 4 bottles is more cost-effective, a group of 9.9 yuan, with an average of less than 2.5 yuan a bottle.
Is the price of "Fat House Happy Water" really going to rise? The Orange Vision interactive reporter specially went to the big supermarket and street convenience store today to learn about the price. Considering that Coca-Cola has many specifications, the main focus is on 500ml bottles, 330ml cans, and 200ml mini cans.
A 500ml bottle of Coca-Cola is sold at a different price in supermarkets
The lowest is less than 2.5 yuan, and the most expensive is 3.8 yuan
Hema online App, and the price of Xiaoshou buy, 500ml bottle 3.5 yuan a bottle, 330ml modern can 3 yuan / can, these two if purchased in a set, the average unit price is lower, 330ml can 10.9 yuan a group of 6 cans, 500ml bottle 4 bottles 9.9 yuan.
Sam's Club only has 300ml bottles and 200ml mini cans of zero-degree sugar-free version online, the latter in a set of 20 cans, priced at 36.8 yuan.
Lianhua supermarket, there are more choices. Among them, the normal price of 500ml bottles is 3.4 yuan, and there are activities for 3.3 yuan a bottle in these two days; a group of 6 cans in 330ml cans, with a preferential price of 13.5 yuan; both specifications have a superposition of 109 yuan minus 20 yuan; the other 200ml mini can is 12 cans, with a preferential price of 22.8 yuan.
RT-Mart supermarket, 330ml cans in a group of 6, today's activity price is also 10.9 yuan; 330ml modern can 2.9 yuan / can, 500ml bottle 3.2 yuan a bottle, 200ml mini can 12 cans, preferential price 20.9 yuan.
The unit price of street convenience stores is significantly higher. A very small 7-11,330ml modern can in the subway station 3.6 yuan / can; At the Lawson convenience store near West Lake Cultural Square, 500ml bottles cost 3.8 yuan a bottle.
Coca-Cola replied that there was no price increase for the time being
PepsiCo quietly gained two corners last month
Earlier, just as Xiaoshou "was pushed" short video news, some media said that Coca-Cola "maybe" and "soon" stage a "price war". However, as far as the different channels and official news learned by the Orange Vision interactive reporter at present, this round of "price increase" seems to have no exact news of landing.
"We haven't received any news about another price increase." The relevant staff of Zhejiang Taikoo Coca-Cola said to reporters when questioning the price increase, "Now our recommended retail price is 3.5 yuan." ”
The 3.5 yuan here is based on a 500ml bottle of Coke as an example. The suggested retail price means that the standard price for external sales of retail terminal channels is given, but when the actual goods are sold, they can be reasonably floated. Therefore, there will be price inconsistencies between large chain supermarkets and street convenience stores and small community stores. "Some selling prices fluctuate, and the unit price is higher than 3.5 yuan, but this does not mean that the price increases."
In addition to official news, Orange Persimmon Interactive also inquired through supermarkets and market sides whether there was a price increase. Another lady who has been a distributor and wholesaler in Desheng Food Market for more than 20 years said that she heard that Coca-Cola was going to increase prices, but this "heard" was limited to news obtained on the Internet, "not yet in the industry."
However, this inquiry, Lianhua's procurement staff said that Coca-Cola price increase has not heard, but Pepsi has increased. "Just last month (April), 330ml Pepsi, 3 yuan rose to 3.2 yuan."
On the Lianhua Whale Selection App, the original price of 330ml Pepsi is 3.2 yuan, and the current preferential price is 3.1 yuan.
Coca-Cola's last price cut was two years ago
The conflict in the Sudan is not the only straw
However, the official reply of Zhejiang Taikoo Coca-Cola was also somewhat "mysterious", and the other party used the word "again".
It is reported that the last round of Coca-Cola officially announced price adjustment was in November 2021. A number of products, including Coca-Cola, Sprite, Fanta, have raised their retail prices, among which the classic 500ml bottle of Coke has risen from 3 yuan to 3.5 yuan, which is the official recommended retail price until now.
At the end of March last year, Pepsi officially issued a price adjustment notification letter, starting from April 1, 2022, the price of 500ml bottles of Pepsi Original, Sugar-free, Meinenda and Qixi will all increase to 3.5 yuan / bottle, keeping the price consistent with Coca-Cola.
The reason given by the two giant companies at that time was to "cope with the increase in costs". So this "empty wind" is really because of the conflict in Sudan?
That's a long story. Perhaps before this, few people knew this cold knowledge: one of the raw materials for the production of carbonated drinks such as Coca-Cola is a substance called gum arabic, which makes the carbon dioxide in carbonated drinks more stable. According to foreign media reports, 70%-80% of the world's gum arabic is acacia trees from Sudan, because the recent conflict in Sudan has affected international trade in gum arabic, which in turn has led to skyrocketing raw material prices.
But in fact, this is not the only "straw" that weighs on the camel. In the interview, some industry insiders told Orange Persimmon Interactive that global giants such as Coca-Cola generally have reserves of raw materials, and there is no problem with normal supply for at least 3 months.
Compared with the price increase of a single raw material, the high cost of each supply chain under the background of inflation may be the reason for the final price adjustment.
In February this year, Coca-Cola released its fourth quarter and full year 2022 financial report, financial report data shows that Coca-Cola's revenue for the whole year of 2022 was 43.004 billion US dollars (about 293.155 billion yuan), an increase of 11% year-on-year; Net profit was US$9.54 billion (approximately RMB65.033 billion), down 2% year-on-year. Here, the reason for increasing income but not making money is because of a series of price increases (in the previous round).
On the one hand, deal with price increases "smartly"
On the other hand, it caters to young consumers and produces blockbuster models
The performance is not enough, and the price increase will make up. Price increases have always been the simplest and crudest way for FMCG companies to boost their performance. As a world-renowned brand, Coca-Cola once regarded "maintaining price stability" as a brand competition weapon, but it also had to change its strategy because of "reality". According to media reports, in April 2021, when talking about price-related topics, James Quincey, chairman and CEO of Coca-Cola, said that Coca-Cola hopes to deal with price increases "smartly" and will seriously consider the use of packaging specifications to optimize consumers' price points.
For example, in 2018, the production capacity of 330ml dwarf can cola with a retail price of 2.5 yuan / can at that time was reduced, and a new high can (modern can) cola with a retail price of 3 yuan was released, referring to the price we find in supermarkets today, and the current (recommended) retail price of these two models has not been raised.
In addition, the launch of small packages is also one of the strategies to increase prices in disguise. Like a 200ml mini can, the average single can is about 1.7 yuan, which is slightly more expensive than the 500ml package with a recommended retail price of 3.5 yuan.
Of course, the price increase is part of it, and Coca-Cola has been busy making explosive models over the years, attracting more young people and achieving sales growth. Just the day before yesterday (May 18), Zhejiang Taikoo Coca-Cola officially announced a cross-border cooperation with the popular game IP League of Legends to launch a game-themed limited taste. This is Coca-Cola's new platform "Coke Creations", which leads the trend of young culture around the world, following the Galaxy Walk, Rhythm Cube, and Soul Realm, the first series of new products launched in 2023 - "Heroes Debut", sugar-free, available in 500ml bottles and 330ml modern cans, only sold in mainland China for 3 months.
The unit price of the limited edition is close to 50% higher than that of ordinary cans of cola of the same specification
Do you usually like to drink Coke? Which one do you drink more? Do you think that if the price of Coke increases, will it affect your normal purchase? Message area is waiting for you!