Dive Brief:
- Coca-Cola, which has long noted in earnings statements that concerns about obesity and other health risks associated with its products are a threat to its business, has decided to fight those concerns directly.
- In the cover story of the most recent issue of Bloomberg Businessweek, Coca-Cola's president for North America, Sandy Douglas, talks openly about the weight-gain risks of soda, while blasting concerns about aspartame as mere "Internet rumors."
- Among the more interesting strategies that Coke will pursue to fight health concerns: returning the company to smaller servings sizes that are less likely to create guilt in consumers.
Dive Insight:
The Businessweek article is worth a read for many reasons, one of them being that it opens with Douglas talking about how he limits his soda consumption for health reasons. Also quite interesting are the illustrations for the article -- an obese Coke bottle and a skid-row sort of Santa -- which are causing controversy of their own.
