As Jamie Oliver whizzes around
on his Vespa of health and schools knock the sale of fizzy drinks on
the head, Coke is in a bind, writes
Mark
ThomasTonight With Trevor McDonald is not
something that some folk admit to watching. Mainly people don't
admit to watching it because it is rubbish. And in any case, they
don't watch it.
Tonight With . . . is less a current-affairs
flagship and more of a
Herald of Free Enterprise ferry - big,
brash and lying on its side in the harbour.
However, I was
moved to watch the "Has Coke lost its fizz?" programme. Coca-Cola's
recent story is one of stumbling growth, partly explained by a crash
in sales of fizzy drinks. But it is also connected to a product so
sugary that Kate Moss could double her body weight by drinking one
can, to stories of trade unionists murdered by paramilitaries in
Colombia, and to drought-stricken villages in India.
The
programme went out on 6 March, after being pulled from the schedules
at the last minute and delayed for a week. According to the ITV duty
office this was due to "compliance" issues. Granada's press office
says it was "technical" problems. Whatever the reason, Coca-Cola is
having a bad time - and really knows it is when a programme such as
Tonight With Trevor comes lumbering after it.
The
fizzy drinks market has begun to collapse. In a troubled seven-year
period from 1998 to 2005, the company's share price halved. The
figures out for last year's sales show only 1 per cent growth for
Coca-Cola Enterprises UK, which is bad news for Coke. Even the
company was forced to admit its problems: "Our business growth is
not what we would hope." The 170 redundancies it announced in
January are a more accurate reflection of its woes.
As Jamie
Oliver whizzes around on his Vespa of health, as schools knock the
sale of fizzy drinks on the head, and as Britain gets the
health-food bug, Coke has taken a pounding. Its attempts to get into
the UK's bottled-water market were fantastically farcical. Dasani,
the brand name forever associated with Peckham Spring, was found to
be Kent tap water with some minerals in it. Whereas there is nothing
wrong with tap water - or, indeed, with Coca-Cola adding a few
minerals and salts to it - punters felt disinclined to pay a quid
for a bottle of the stuff.
Following a media storm over the
ingredients, Dasani was withdrawn from the market, with no plans to
relaunch it in this country. Which leaves Coca-Cola in a bind: more
people are opting for water than fizzy drinks, but the company's
water brand is even deader than Tessa Jowell's career. So how is the
company going to break into the water market?
Step forward
Aquarius, a lemon-flavoured non-carbonated drink that happens to
sell rather well in Spain. Coca-Cola has been testing punters'
reactions to it in the UK. Marketed in trusty natural-blue hues -
the bottled-water seller's favourite - and with a bottle design
associated with sports and health drinks, the new product is,
according to some close to the company, ready to launch in the
summer.
Paradoxically, Coca-Cola has just launched its answer
to Red Bull, Relentless, which carries the warning "Not suitable for
pregnant women". This, you might think, runs slightly counter to a
healthy image. But then Coke has never been all about making the
world a healthier place.
As if the company didn't have enough
on its plate, along came intriguing scenes at War on Want's annual
general meeting on 25 February. The charity's council had decided to
support the call for a boycott of Coca-Cola in protest at the
killing by paramilitaries of workers at Coke bottling plants in
Colombia.
Members of the trade union Amicus turned up in
force to oppose the planned ban, handing out leaflets stating that
they had "consulted with the workers in Colombia and have been
assured by them that they do not support a call for a boycott".
Obviously, these people have not spoken to the Colombian trade union
Sinaltrainal, which initiated the call for a boycott following the
deaths of a number of its members.
Stranger still was the
presence of the public relations man Douglas Trainer, seen sitting
and chatting with the Amicus bloc. Trainer is a PR man consulted by
Coca-Cola (in an advisory capacity, it is keen to stress). So what
was a PR man with connections to Coke doing at a War on Want AGM?
Was he a member? "Yes," said Trainer. So when did he join?
"Thursday." Two days before the AGM.
When advisers to
Coca-Cola are joining charities two days before crucial votes that
will affect Coke, things appear a tad desperate for the company.
So why all the shenanigans at the War on Want
AGM?
Trainer is an ex-president of the National Union of
Students. Coke currently faces a major NUS conference vote on the
issue of boycotting the company. As Coca-Cola's contract with the
student purchasing body NUSL is up for renewal, advocates of a
boycott are using the opportunity to force a vote. Has Trainer been
asked to steer the company through the choppy waters of the NUS
vote? Coca-Cola did not comment on this suggestion.
The event
is already causing the company some concern, regardless of the
outcome. The last thing it needs is War on Want lining up alongside
Unison as supporters of the boycott and creating any kind of
momentum on the issue.
