The coronavirus pandemic has accelerated the company's plans to reduce the number of products offered.
The history of the Tab brand began in 1963, when the company's first diet soda was introduced under it, mainly aimed at a female audience. The peak of the brand's popularity came in the 70-80s, when various diets for weight loss became popular in America. Then, when the company introduced Diet Coke in 1982, the gradual decline of Tab began. So, in 2011, only 3 million packs of Tab were produced, while Diet Coke "took the bar" at 855 million packs.
Coca-Cola supported the already clearly outdated and unprofitable trademark to the last, largely due to an established fan base. However, the global coronavirus pandemic has forced the manufacturer to start a massive overhaul of its products. Profit for the second fiscal quarter of 2020 fell immediately by 33% and the share price - by 9%. The company has not demonstrated such negative results for more than 30 years. And CEO James Quincy, who has led Coca-Cola since 2017, announced the start of the active recovery from the crisis.
First of all, this will affect the revision of the portfolio of brands. In addition to Tab, the Odwalla juice brand, Zico coconut water, Coca-Cola Life and Diet Coke Feisty Cherry will be retired. Regional products like Northern Neck Ginger Ale and Delaware Punch will also disappear. In the production of diet drinks, the company will focus on the Diet Coke and Coke Zero Sugar brands.
It is expected that reducing the portfolio of obsolete brands and focusing on stronger brands will allow the company to reduce losses and become more efficient. Still, the freed up resources will be used to support products with great growth potential.
