Coca-Cola is about to come out
Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey has announced the possible eventual withdrawal of the company from Russia if there is a delay in the military special operation in Ukraine. The world giant in the production of carbonated water did not refuse to sell it in Russia, so it faced criticism. And it is possible that in the near future Sprite, Fanta and other drinks will disappear from the Russian shelves.
In Russia, long before Western sanctions, the production of budget analogues of Coca-Cola was established by a number of companies. Among them are the Aqua-Vita company, which produces a soda called Chudo Chudnoye (resembling Fanta) in Eastern Siberia and the Far East, and the Slavda company Cola Grinks, which is gradually filling the shelves of Primorye supermarkets.
Minsk Soft Drinks Plant (MZBN) has long been implementing plans to increase its share in the Russian soda market. Mikhail Sinichenkov, head of the export department of MZBN, said in an interview with socialbites.ca that exports of Rosinki, Fan-Fana and other analogues of American soda brands have increased by tens of percent in just the past few months.
“Our plant has significantly increased mineral water exports from Belarus to Russia. Since the end of February, sales have increased by 50%. Our products are much better than Russian clones of Coca-Cola or Fanta, but this is already a matter of preference. It is absolutely not our style to deceive the Russians with a bright label, ”Sinichenkov emphasized.
He added that MZBN has long supplied its products to the Russian market, that in recent years the Belarusian plant has managed to expand the geography of delivery – now it covers almost the entire Russia.
“It’s more of a logistics issue here – it’s not very profitable to transport drinks far. For us, the Central and North-West of Russia have always been the most convenient transportation shoulder. However, we have recently expanded our geography to the Far East. There are fruit drinks and birch trees. “Natural products such as extract are in great demand among our customers. Competition is absolutely normal, we are ready to fight with both Russian and foreign soda producers,” he said.
quality is not better
The quality of the Chudo Chudnoe drink, which is similar to Fanta, is comparable to the world brands of carbonated water. The basis of the Russian analogue is also made from sugar syrup with a natural flavor, but low-calorie soda using various sweeteners is also found in the assortment, Aqua-Vita chief technologist Svetlana Rodzevich told socialbites.ca.
“Our“ Miracle ”in taste is no worse than the same“ Fanta ”. The real problem is that we don’t have as big promotional and advertising funds as Coca-Cola does. About five or six years ago, Kola launched drinks in Russia with a variety of flavors such as lemon, cherry, and others. Aqua-Vita had produced cherry cola two years ago. However, our sales increased due to the intense advertisements of the American brand on the central television. The Russians took the cheaper one, ”Stress Rodzevich.
At a price, Russian counterparts are significantly more budgetary than the products of an American company. For example, in Sbermarket you can buy 1.5 liters of Chudo Chudnoe soda for 57.99 rubles. – About the same (59 rubles) in “Yandex.Lavka”, the cost of 0.5 liters of “Fanta” with a 30% discount. A similar story concerns the price tags of MZBN products. Half a liter of “Fan-Fan” and “Rosinka” will cost 50 rubles, a liter of these drinks will cost Russians 82 rubles.
MZBN noted that in the preparation of their brand they use natural sugar and pure Belarusian drinking water from their own artesian wells, and also add high-quality European aromatic ingredients.
“Both world brands – both Pepsi and Coca-Cola – started their production at our plant in Belarus. As part of the cooperation, MZBN was almost completely modernized. We gained experience, studied advanced beverage production technologies and quality control. All this, became the basis for the further development and production of our own beverage line: Bela-Cola, Rosinka, Fan-Fan,
– said Elena Zheltenko, Marketing Director of MZBN.
Coca-Cola Monopoly
Aqua Vita’s Rodzevich expressed optimism about Coca-Cola’s possible withdrawal from Russia. The American giant has repeatedly put spokes on the wheels of regional players in the carbonated market.
“We have already tried and will continue to try to go beyond Siberia and the Far East. But for sales to be high, you have to go to big federal retail chains like Auchan or Lenta. However, joining them and getting along with them is a very long and difficult process. Their shelf space is overpriced. Kola has millions of rubles for this, we do not have such funds, ”said the director.
Prior to trying to enter the central Russian market, Aqua-Vita had long collaborated with regional sites such as Pyaterochka and Plantain. Rodzevich added that there is a story about the latter with the direct participation of Coca-Cola.
“We have been collaborating with Plantain for decades. But not so long ago, Coke landed on this site without any problems and put refrigerators in supermarkets. As a result, our Coke has been removed from Plantain. The monopoly of Coca-Cola in the Russian market is felt very strongly.”
How might Coca-Cola react?
Even if the American company finally leaves the Russian market, this will not prevent it from going to court to protect copyright and patent rights for the design and production of world-famous carbonated drinks. However, independent marketer Maxim Puchkov stressed that it is unlikely that we will expect a lawsuit from the soda giant in the coming months.
“Coca-Cola owns all the copyrights, from the shape of the bottle to the brand font to the layout of the design elements on the label. All registered.
In fact, Russian and Belarusian brands of mineral water are products of the Me-Too category (not related to the anti-harassment movement of the same name). A similar term in marketing refers to products that are visually similar, but do not exactly repeat the characteristics of the original. In this case, the claims are a very sensible measure of competition,” he said.
The Coca-Cola Company has been in the American soft drink market for more than a century, with more than a hundred new drinks released each year. Dev has repeatedly destroyed his rivals with lawsuits against his imitators. Puchkov believes the company can do the same in the Russian market.
“Now Americans have adopted a wait-and-see attitude. Until now, the accused was going to pay Kolya conditional compensation for 10-100 thousand rubles, since physically by this time he did not have time to sell a large amount of carbonated water with similar tastes and labels. After that your clone will slightly change the packaging, sweeten the taste but still continue to produce similar products. But after 6-12 months, you can sue a competitor for 10 million rubles.
In addition, arbitration may order the defendant to suspend business for the duration of the proceedings. Puchkov concludes that if he succeeds in court, Coca-Cola can kill two birds with one stone – it will remove the clone drink from the market and take away most of the competitor’s production and financial resources.