Posts Tagged ‘Coke’

How Coke Took Over Health Policy in China

January 10, 2019 — A new report in the BMJ tells us Coca Cola is controlling health policy in China – as it relates to physical activity and obesity. Harvard professor Susan Greenhalgh says: The company has cleverly manoeuvered itself into a position of behind-the-scenes power that ensures that government policy to fight the growing obesity epidemic does not undermine its […]

Has Coke Breathed New Life into Diet Soda?

November 5, 2017 — The Washington Post wants to tell us “How Coca-Cola got Americans to drink diet soda again.” That’s an interesting spin, but it’s not clear yet that rebranding Coke Zero into Coke Zero Sugar has done all of that. What is clear is that the relaunch is clever and it’s doing well for this particular brand. […]

The Annoying Distraction of “Evil” Beverage Companies

October 26, 2017 — Coke has a new CEO and a new corporate strategy that seems like it’s starting to work. You can find the essence of it in Coke’s new image advertising. Maybe the company that taught the world to sing is starting to shed some of the reputation issues that have dogged it for years now. A […]

Keeping an Enemies List in Nutrition

October 4, 2015 — If you spend any time perusing headlines in nutrition, it’s hard not to notice a widespread inclination to keep an enemies list in nutrition. The enemy can be a food — maybe red meat. It can be gluten, it can be geneticaly modified food ingredients, it can be processed foods, it can be fat, it can be […]

PR, Research, and Transparency

September 2, 2015 — PR, research, and transparency keep crashing together with unpredictable results. One outcome is an ample supply of indignation, but a relative trickle of pragmatic critical thinking. The indignation comes from activists certain that nothing good could ever come from Big Food. Indignation also comes from folks from within Big Food who find themselves under siege by activists who are aided by […]

Hunker in the Bunker

August 23, 2015 — After more than two decades of rising obesity rates, signs of a bunker mentality among people dealing with the problem should not be surprising. And indeed, they’re not hard to find. On one hand, you have dedicated, but frustrated, public health professionals feeling threatened by their foes in big food and big soda. They are […]

Name Calling in the New York Times

August 11, 2015 — The number one most emailed story from the New York Times this weekend is one that fell just short of name calling against three different scientists. The narrative behind this story is that funding for research and dialog about the health effects of physical activity is a key ploy by Coca Cola to persuade people […]

Soda Consumption Down, Problem Solved?

December 13, 2014 — Soda consumption is down 10% in Mexico, according to preliminary results of a survey of consumer purchase patterns published by Mexico’s National Institute of Public Health. This follows the institution of a seven-cents-per-liter tax on sugary drinks in January. At the same time, Mexico imposed an 8% tax on high-caloric, non-essential foods like chips and […]

Is Harm Reduction a Strategy for Coke?

August 3, 2014 — In the midst of a decade of declining soda sales, could it be that Coke is pursuing a harm reduction strategy? Some subtle and even mixed signs suggest that this might be the case. Harm reduction is a public health policy designed to reduce the harmful effects of unhealthy human behaviors. Pragmatists embrace harm reduction while […]

Coca-Cola Life Goes Green, Activists See Red

June 14, 2014 — This week brought the news that Coca-Cola will be launching a reduced-sugar version of their iconic brand in the U.K. under the name Coca-Cola Life. Beverage Digest reported that the product will also be introduced into the U.S. market in the same time frame, September or October of this year. Coca-Cola Life was first introduced […]