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Coca-Cola Goes Green: The Launch of Coke Life SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of Coca-Cola Goes Green: The Launch of Coke Life


In June 2013, The Coca-Cola Company (TCCC) launched Coke Life, a naturally sweetened but sugar-reduced carbonated soft drink. Coke Life complemented TCCC's established product line consisting of Coca-Cola Classic, Diet Coke, and Coke Zero. Coke Life substituted a portion of the sugar component with stevia leaf extract and contained 35 per cent less sugar than Coca-Cola Classic. TCCC claimed that "Coke Life is for adults looking for a great tasting Coke but [one with] fewer kilojoules and [that is] sweetened from natural sources." Affected by governmental interventions, such as the implementation of special taxes and warning labels, the consumption of soft drinks had slowed down significantly, which had caused leading soft drink manufacturers to introduce "green" product modifications of their traditional beverages. When TCCC launched Coke Life, the market for carbonated soft drinks was highly competitive and was shrinking in part due to concerns over soft drinks contributing to obesity and type 2 diabetes. Was Coke Life likely to be successful? Or was it simply a "greenwashed" product in a highly segmented market? Matthias Koch is affiliated with University of Melbourne.

Authors :: Matthias Koch

Topics :: Sales & Marketing

Tags :: Marketing, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "Coca-Cola Goes Green: The Launch of Coke Life" written by Matthias Koch includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Coke Soft facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Coca-Cola Goes Green: The Launch of Coke Life case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Marketing and Sales & Marketing.


Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Coca-Cola Goes Green: The Launch of Coke Life casestudy better are - – challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, technology disruption, increasing transportation and logistics costs, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing commodity prices, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, etc



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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Coca-Cola Goes Green: The Launch of Coke Life


SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Coca-Cola Goes Green: The Launch of Coke Life case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Coke Soft, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Coke Soft operates in.

According to Harvard Business Review, 75% of the managers use SWOT analysis for various purposes such as – evaluating current scenario, strategic planning, new venture feasibility, personal growth goals, new market entry, Go To market strategies, portfolio management and strategic trade-off assessment, organizational restructuring, etc.




SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix


SWOT analysis of Coca-Cola Goes Green: The Launch of Coke Life can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Coca-Cola Goes Green: The Launch of Coke Life case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Coke Soft
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Sales & Marketing field.
4. Making a Sales & Marketing topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Coke Soft




Strengths Coca-Cola Goes Green: The Launch of Coke Life | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Coke Soft in Coca-Cola Goes Green: The Launch of Coke Life Harvard Business Review case study are -

Highly skilled collaborators

– Coke Soft has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive segment. Secondly the value chain collaborators of the firm in Coca-Cola Goes Green: The Launch of Coke Life HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.

Innovation driven organization

– Coke Soft is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Coca-Cola Goes Green: The Launch of Coke Life Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.

Training and development

– Coke Soft has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Coca-Cola Goes Green: The Launch of Coke Life Harvard Business Review case study by analyzing – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.

Analytics focus

– Coke Soft is putting a lot of focus on utilizing the power of analytics in business decision making. This has put it among the leading players in the industry. The technology infrastructure suggested by Matthias Koch can also help it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.

Diverse revenue streams

– Coke Soft is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Coca-Cola Goes Green: The Launch of Coke Life case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.

Learning organization

- Coke Soft is a learning organization. It has inculcated three key characters of learning organization in its processes and operations – exploration, creativity, and expansiveness. The work place at Coke Soft is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Coca-Cola Goes Green: The Launch of Coke Life Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

Ability to lead change in Sales & Marketing field

– Coke Soft is one of the leading players in its industry. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in its segment but also across the whole industry. The ability to lead change has enabled Coke Soft in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.

Successful track record of launching new products

– Coke Soft has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Coke Soft has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.

Ability to recruit top talent

– Coke Soft is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Coca-Cola Goes Green: The Launch of Coke Life are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.

Superior customer experience

– The customer experience strategy of Coke Soft in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Sales & Marketing industry

– Coca-Cola Goes Green: The Launch of Coke Life firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Coke Soft to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Coke Soft to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

Low bargaining power of suppliers

– Suppliers of Coke Soft in the sector have low bargaining power. Coca-Cola Goes Green: The Launch of Coke Life has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Coke Soft to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.






Weaknesses Coca-Cola Goes Green: The Launch of Coke Life | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Coca-Cola Goes Green: The Launch of Coke Life are -

Slow to harness new channels of communication

– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Coke Soft is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Coca-Cola Goes Green: The Launch of Coke Life can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.

Skills based hiring

– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Coke Soft has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.

Compensation and incentives

– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Coca-Cola Goes Green: The Launch of Coke Life, is just above the industry average. Coke Soft needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.

Need for greater diversity

– Coke Soft has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.

High cash cycle compare to competitors

Coke Soft has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.

Ability to respond to the competition

– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Coca-Cola Goes Green: The Launch of Coke Life, in the dynamic environment Coke Soft has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Coke Soft has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.

Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy

– From the instances in the HBR case study Coca-Cola Goes Green: The Launch of Coke Life, it seems that the employees of Coke Soft don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.

Slow to strategic competitive environment developments

– As Coca-Cola Goes Green: The Launch of Coke Life HBR case study mentions - Coke Soft takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.

High bargaining power of channel partners

– Because of the regulatory requirements, Matthias Koch suggests that, Coke Soft is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.

Aligning sales with marketing

– It come across in the case study Coca-Cola Goes Green: The Launch of Coke Life that the firm needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department in the case Coca-Cola Goes Green: The Launch of Coke Life can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Coke Soft is planning to shift buying processes online.

Interest costs

– Compare to the competition, Coke Soft has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.




Opportunities Coca-Cola Goes Green: The Launch of Coke Life | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis


The opportunities highlighted in the Harvard Business Review case study Coca-Cola Goes Green: The Launch of Coke Life are -

Increase in government spending

– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Coke Soft can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Coke Soft operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Sales & Marketing sector.

Finding new ways to collaborate

– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Sales & Marketing industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Coke Soft can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.

Developing new processes and practices

– Coke Soft can develop new processes and procedures in Sales & Marketing industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of Coke Soft has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Coke Soft to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Coca-Cola Goes Green: The Launch of Coke Life case study. Coke Soft can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.

Using analytics as competitive advantage

– Coke Soft has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in the sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled, as illustrated in the Harvard case study Coca-Cola Goes Green: The Launch of Coke Life - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Coke Soft to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.

Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19

– Consumer behavior has changed in the Sales & Marketing industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Coke Soft can take advantage of these changes in consumer behavior to build a far more efficient business model. For example consumer regular ordering of products can reduce both last mile delivery costs and market penetration costs. Coke Soft can further use this consumer data to build better customer loyalty, provide better products and service collection, and improve the value proposition in inflationary times.

Manufacturing automation

– Coke Soft can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Sales & Marketing segment. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.

Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities

– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Coke Soft to expand its talent hiring zone. According to McKinsey Global Institute, 20% of the high end workforce in fields such as finance, information technology, can continously work from remote local post Covid-19. This presents a really great opportunity for Coke Soft to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.

Buying journey improvements

– Coke Soft can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Coca-Cola Goes Green: The Launch of Coke Life suggest that firm can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.

Reconfiguring business model

– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Coke Soft to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.

Building a culture of innovation

– managers at Coke Soft can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Sales & Marketing segment.

Leveraging digital technologies

– Coke Soft can leverage digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the production process, customer analytics to get better insights into consumer behavior, realtime digital dashboards to get better sales tracking, logistics and transportation, product tracking, etc.

Better consumer reach

– The expansion of the 5G network will help Coke Soft to increase its market reach. Coke Soft will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.




Threats Coca-Cola Goes Green: The Launch of Coke Life External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis


The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Coca-Cola Goes Green: The Launch of Coke Life are -

Easy access to finance

– Easy access to finance in Sales & Marketing field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Coke Soft can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.

Barriers of entry lowering

– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Coke Soft with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.

Stagnating economy with rate increase

– Coke Soft can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the field.

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that Coke Soft is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

Environmental challenges

– Coke Soft needs to have a robust strategy against the disruptions arising from climate change and energy requirements. EU has identified it as key priority area and spending 30% of its 880 billion Euros European post Covid-19 recovery funds on green technology. Coke Soft can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry.

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Coke Soft can face downward pressure on margins from increasing competition from international players. The international players have stable revenue in their home market and can use those resources to penetrate prominent markets illustrated in HBR case study Coca-Cola Goes Green: The Launch of Coke Life .

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Coca-Cola Goes Green: The Launch of Coke Life, Coke Soft may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Sales & Marketing .

Consumer confidence and its impact on Coke Soft demand

– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in the industry and other sectors.

Backlash against dominant players

– US Congress and other legislative arms of the government are getting tough on big business especially technology companies. The digital arm of Coke Soft business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.

Increasing wage structure of Coke Soft

– Post Covid-19 there is a sharp increase in the wages especially in the jobs that require interaction with people. The increasing wages can put downward pressure on the margins of Coke Soft.

Capital market disruption

– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of Coke Soft.

High level of anxiety and lack of motivation

– the Great Resignation in United States is the sign of broader dissatisfaction among the workforce in United States. Coke Soft needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Sales & Marketing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.

Regulatory challenges

– Coke Soft needs to prepare for regulatory challenges as consumer protection groups and other pressure groups are vigorously advocating for more regulations on big business - to reduce inequality, to create a level playing field, to product data privacy and consumer privacy, to reduce the influence of big money on democratic institutions, etc. This can lead to significant changes in the Sales & Marketing industry regulations.




Weighted SWOT Analysis of Coca-Cola Goes Green: The Launch of Coke Life Template, Example


Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers in the HBR case study Coca-Cola Goes Green: The Launch of Coke Life needs to zero down on the relative importance of each factor mentioned in the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants. We can provide the relative importance to each factor by assigning relative weights. Weighted SWOT analysis process is a three stage process –

First stage for doing weighted SWOT analysis of the case study Coca-Cola Goes Green: The Launch of Coke Life is to rank the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. This will help you to assess the most important strengths and weaknesses of the firm and which one of the strengths and weaknesses mentioned in the initial lists are marginal and can be left out.

Second stage for conducting weighted SWOT analysis of the Harvard case study Coca-Cola Goes Green: The Launch of Coke Life is to give probabilities to the external strategic factors thus better understanding the opportunities and threats arising out of macro environment changes and developments.

Third stage of constructing weighted SWOT analysis of Coca-Cola Goes Green: The Launch of Coke Life is to provide strategic recommendations includes – joining likelihood of external strategic factors such as opportunities and threats to the internal strategic factors – strengths and weaknesses. You should start with external factors as they will provide the direction of the overall industry. Secondly by joining probabilities with internal strategic factors can help the company not only strategic fit but also the most probably strategic trade-off that Coke Soft needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.



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