Coca Cola issues dire warning to fans of its drinks after year of hikes
Coca Cola have warned that the cost of their drinks will continue to rise after a year of price hikes.
Average selling prices for the company's drinks - which also include Fanta, Innocent smoothies and Sprite - shot up by 12 per cent in 2021, according to their latest trading update.
These price increases had been implemented towards the end of the year, and came despite positive results showing Coke's revenue rose 7% to $10.1 billion (£8.3million) in the October-December period.
But Coca Cola fans will continue to feel the pinch this year thanks to inflation, according to chief executive James Quincey, who said in Tuesday's report that there "will be price increases across the world in 2023" on the company's brands.
Some good news may be on the horizon however, as he predicted inflation would "moderate as we go through the year" and "therefore we expect the rate in which prices are going to increase will start to moderate and become more normal" by the end of the year.
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The price hikes come despite the company's revenue rising 7% to £8.3 billion in the October-December period (Corbis via Getty Images)He added that while the European economy was forecast to avoid a technical recession, consumer demand in the region appeared to be softening, and suggested this was "likely to continue into the rest of the year.”
The latest changes come after soft drinks fans were left incensed this week when it was revealed the Coca Cola Company had scrapped the iconic Lilt brand with immediate effect.
Flavours of the tropical drink have been hitting the shelves since February 14 under the new name of Fanta Pineapple & Grapefruit, marking the end of the Lilt brand after 48 years.
A spokesperson said Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP) said the packaging of the new drink would display "a graphic nod to the totally tropical taste" of Lilt.
Chief executive James Quincey blamed the increases on inflation, and predicted they would stabilise towards the end of the year (AFP via Getty Images)A zero-sugar version of the drink will also be launched as part of the rollout of the new product.
Martin Attock, CCEP GB VP of commercial development, said the announcement has been made to "reassure Lilt's loyal fanbase that absolutely nothing has changed".
He added: "It's still bursting with tangy tropical flavours. It's just got itself a new name."
The Coca Cola Company was also boosted last year by the success of Costa Coffee shops in Britain, according to new figures.
Sales for the Costa brand over a 12 month period grew by 13% worldwide, according to World Coffee Portal, with its strong performance of its 2,700 UK stores in the post-pandemic period cited as a main factor.
The coffee chain, which now has 3,401 stores across 31 countries, was purchased by Coca Cola back in 2019.
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