Globalization: Coca-Cola

From Coca-Cola's start in 1886 to now, the brand is now selling in over 200 countries worldwide. Based on the best global brand study done in 2011 by Interbrand, Coca-Cola was placed at number one as the world’s most valuable brand. Last year alone Coca-Cola reported around 1.8 billion drinks sold. In the 1900s a demand for the global availability arose when U.S. military began occupying Cuba and Panama. To meet the demand, bottling plants were placed in these countries. Once the benefits of cost was recognized, other plants were established in Puerto Rico, the Philippines, and Hawaii. It was publicly introduced to the global market when it became the first commercial sponsor in the 1928 Olympic games. In the 1960s the company decided to expand into other sodas and flavors with the introduction of Fanta, Sprite, and Fresca. This expansion also came with the purchase of the Minute Maid company which introduced an entire line of juices and uncarbonated drinks. One of the biggest expansion came in 1982 when Coca-Cola introduced Diet Coke which quickly became the largest selling low calorie soft drink in America. Another huge part of the globalization of Coca-Cola is the way it has been marketed. Coca-Cola's marketing has become popular through the use of jingles, eye-catching commercials, and catchy slogans. Coca-Cola has also been able to evolve to the different tastes across all ages, continents, and taste pallets. For example, in Japan they have a green tea flavored Coca-Cola drink. Many of the changes in society associated with the Coca-Cola company are health related. A lot of parents began to be concerned with the amounts of sugar and caffeine in the drinks. Because of these concerns, many schools have made restrictions, or even banned to encourage children and teens to choose healthier alternatives.

"Coca-Cola encapsulates what happened in the 20th century: the rise of consumer capitalism and the emergence of America as a superpower," Tom Standage said. "It's globalization in a bottle."

Coca-Cola has become a symbol of America, and because of this many countries have either embraced or rejected the entire brand. In 1949 Coca-Cola wanted to open a plant in Israel but was denied a building permit. In response to several claims that Coca-Cola was boycotting Israel to please the much larger Arab market, the Arab League Boycotted the Coca-Cola company from 1968 to 1991. Other Middle Eastern countries have also boycotted Coca-Cola, Like Malaysia in 2009 after an Israeli attack in Gaza, which was also rooted in the fact that Coca-Cola is a big U.S. company. Even just last year, a pro-Palestinian hacker group targeted Coca-Cola’s website. Coca-Cola has gained so much global notoriety since its beginnings and continues to grow with the expansion of products, availability, and publicity.