FUNMAN
4 years ago
Could a Cannabis Investment Be on Coke's Radar?
https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/could-a-cannabis-investment-be-on-cokes-radar-2020-10-04
CONTRIBUTOR David Jagielski The Motley Fool
PUBLISHED OCT 4, 2020 8:13AM EDT
Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) is a stable but evolving company that has adapted to changing consumer trends over the years. While its most popular products are its sugary drinks, its business is much more robust, with more than 500 brands around the world. In addition to soft drinks, the company also sells coffee, tea, juice, water, and plant-based drinks.
One offering that could soon be on the horizon for Coca-Cola is cannabis. Although it may seem like a risky move for a fairly conservative company like Coca-Cola, here's why a move into that industry may be inevitable.
The company is following the consumer
Coca-Cola made a big announcement this year: It's going to be offering its first alcoholic beverage in decades, a hard seltzer. Through its Topo Chico brand, it plans to launch the new products next year, and the reason is likely no mystery: During the coronavirus pandemic, hard seltzer has been selling incredibly well. Data from analytics company Nielsen shows that hard seltzer sales quadrupled over a 15-week period ending June 13. It's an incredible, and welcome, opportunity for Coca-Cola to continue growing its business. In 2019, the company reported revenue of $37.3 billion -- down 19% from five years ago, when it generated $46 billion.
"We're going to follow the consumer," Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey told CNBC in a recent interview when discussing the move into hard seltzer. And if that's the motivation, it may only be a matter of time before cannabis ends up on the company's radar as another significant growth opportunity. According to data from Grand View Research, the market for cannabis beverages could reach $2.8 billion by 2025, growing at an annual rate of 17.8%.
There were rumors in the past of Coca-Cola partnering with Aurora Cannabis
In 2018, it appeared that a deal involving Coke and cannabis producer Aurora Cannabis (NYSE: ACB) was right around the corner, with the soft-drink giant looking to make cannabis beverages. Nothing ended up materializing from that, but multiple sources did report it, and it's possible Coca-Cola did do some kicking of the tires.
If so, it wouldn't have been the only beverage company to do so. Constellation Brands (NYSE: STZ) , the maker of Corona beer, Svedka vodka, and more, has jumped into the cannabis market with both feet, investing $4 billion in Canadian pot producer Canopy Growth since 2017. And management at Diageo, which makes Guinness, has also said in the past that they're keeping an eye on the cannabis industry.
Quincey downplayed this possibility in 2018, saying Coke had no plans to get into the cannabis market. But he didn't outright say that it would never happen. Whether it's with Aurora or another cannabis company, investors shouldn't rule out the possibility of something happening in the future involving Coca-Cola. That's especially true as consumer attitudes on cannabis continue to change; a total of 11 states have already legalized it for recreational use, and another four could do so this year, with New Jersey, Arizona, South Dakota, and Montana voters deciding on whether to permit adult-use pot in November.
What does this mean for investors?
It's only a matter of time before another big name like Coca-Cola or Diageo joins Constellation Brands with a foray into the cannabis industry. Businesses grow and thrive by evolving and keeping up with consumer trends, and cannabis is rising in popularity. This year's been a banner year for pot sales, with several states, including Illinois, California, Colorado, and Ohio, reporting record numbers.
As pressure mounts for Coca-Cola and other companies to expand their own sales, cannabis offers an opportunity to broaden product lines and reach more customers. And while the federally illegal status of cannabis in the U.S. could be a deterrent in the short term, the Canadian market is wide open and could serve as a great testing ground.
All that said, this doesn't mean you should immediately buy shares in Coca-Cola because sooner or later it might invest in the cannabis industry. Investing in pot stocks themselves may be a better strategy. A large company -- whether or not it's Coca-Cola specifically -- getting into cannabis could energize the entire industry. The Horizons Marijuana Life Sciences ETFÂ (OTC: HMLSF) has fallen 35% this year and is badly underperforming the S&P 500, which is up 4% over the same period. Even just one big name expressing interest in cannabis could get investors bullish on the industry again.
A pot stock like Aurora Cannabis that's fallen more than 80% in 2020 could potentially double, even triple, in value on news of a big company from another industry entering the market. Amid a pandemic, it may be awhile before that happens, but investing in pot stocks today could pay off in a few years, especially if marijuana legalization continues to progress in the U.S.
alliecorp
15 years ago
Coca-Cola's murderous record of anti-union activity in Colombia exposed
NaturalNews.com printable article
Originally published May 22 2010
Coca-Cola's murderous record of anti-union activity in Colombia exposed
by Ethan A. Huff, staff writer
(NaturalNews) Coca-Cola: to many, it is simply the all-American cola that everyone grew up drinking. Originally created in the late 1800s as a medicine, Coca-Cola eventually evolved into one of the world's most popular soft drinks. Besides being a very unhealthy beverage, Coca-Cola has another dirty secret for which few people are aware; the Coca-Cola Company has been involved in a series of kidnappings involving union leaders and organizers at its Colombia bottling facilities. Many of those kidnapped have been severely tortured and even murdered by company thugs.
As shocking and unbelievable as all of this sounds, there is a trail of documented evidence against Coca-Cola for its crimes against union officials. In fact, back in 2001, the United Steelworkers of America and the International Labor Rights Fund, filed a joint lawsuit on behalf of SINALTRAINAL to address the problems in Colombia.
Javier Correa, President of the National Union of Food Industry Workers, and William Mendoza, President of the Barrancabermeja location in Colombia, have joined together with Ray Rogers, Director of the Campaign to Stop Killer Coke, to bring light to the issue and push for an end to the atrocities.
How did it all start?
Most people recognize that unions are formed to protect workers from unfair treatment and abuse by employers. Though some do not operate as intended, the general idea of unions is to ensure that workers are receiving fair pay for their labor and that they are not being grossly extorted by those for whom they work.
U.S. laws have been designed to protect American workers who form labor unions from being threatened or silenced by the companies for whom they work, and while they are not perfect, their intent was for the best interests of American workers.
When workers at Coca-Cola bottling plants in Colombia began to step up and organize unions, the Coca-Cola Company allegedly began to contract with paramilitary security forces to deal with leaders and organizers, something they would not legally be able to do in the U.S. Even today, these forces are using extreme tactics to silence anyone who would dare attempt to organize workers to form a union. These tactics include violent detention efforts, torture and even murder.
Internal Pentagon records that were eventually required to be made public revealed that Colombian troops connected with Coca-Cola's paramilitary forces were also being trained at the U.S. Army's School of the Americas (SOA) in Fort Benning, Georgia, to torture and murder those who conduct "union organizing and recruiting", distribute "propaganda in favor of workers", and "sympathize with demonstrators or strikes."
Is this an isolated incident?
This is not the first time, or the first country, in which Coca-Cola has been responsible for severe human rights abuses. Back in the 1970s and 1980s, the company was responsible for similar behavior in Guatemala, where eight workers in Guatemala City were murdered or otherwise killed for trying to keep their union alive.
Thanks to massive international protests against Coca-Cola following campaigns that brought the truth to light, the multi-national giant was forced to concede and the Guatemalan union survived. But at the time, even the government of Guatemala was unwilling to address the issue; it took the efforts of concerned citizens around the world to win the battle against Coca-Cola and achieve some sort of justice.
The Coca-Cola Company has also been accused of similar human rights abuses in other countries today, including in developing countries like India and China where it has plants. Because the company is so large and powerful, it exerts considerable sway on governments worldwide that turn a blind eye to its abuses.
What is being done to stop Coca-Cola?
The Campaign to Stop Killer Coke has been working for years to bring awareness of these atrocities to light, but unfortunately not much has been resolved in Colombia. And the fact that certain sensitive documents reveal that the U.S. government is playing a role in protecting Coca-Cola adds fuel to the fire. Fortunately, the campaign has been able to successfully initiate some positive steps towards ending Coca-Cola's Colombian tyranny.
In 2006, the University of Michigan, New York University, and a handful of other colleges and universities in North American and Europe cut ties with Coca-Cola because the company would not agree to an independent, third-party audit of its human rights, labor and environmental abuses in both Colombia and India.
Also in 2006, as the World Cup was coming to London with Coca-Cola as one of its primary sponsors, "War on Want" issued a report detailing some of Coca-Cola's abuses around the world. These included:
-Massive drilling efforts in India that exhausted local water supplies and wells, leaving Indian farmers with no water to irrigate their crops.
-Ecosystem contamination in El Salvador and India due to plant waste discharge.
-The human rights abuses taking place in Colombia, as well as in Pakistan, Turkey, Russia, Peru, Chile, Guatemala and Nicaragua.
Demonstrators obstructed the torch relay at the 2006 winter Olympics, exposing many to the truth about Coca-Cola, and held protests at the 2010 winter Olympics in Vancouver as well. Since Coca-Cola is the exclusive non-alcoholic beverage provider to the Olympic Games through 2020, the Games are a primary target for demonstrators.
The Coca-Cola Case, a new documentary
A new documentary called The Coca-Cola Case, which highlights the human rights abuses of the Coca-Cola company, was recently screened in a few Canadian theaters. Hundreds of people, including many students, viewed the movie which, hopefully will make its way into the U.S.
Directed by German Gutierrez and Carmen Garcia, the film tracks labor-rights lawyers Daniel Kovalik and Terry Collingworth, as well as Ray Rogers from the Campaign to Stop Killer Coke, in their efforts to hold the Coca-Cola company accountable for its atrocities. Part of the film highlights the 2001 lawsuit hinged upon the Alien Tort Claims Act, which allows foreigners to sue American companies in American courts for violating "the law of nations or a treaty of the United States."
This film has the potential to ignite a firestorm of pressure against the Coca-Cola Company and force the company to change its ways.
The Campaign to Stop Killer Coke resources
The Campaign to Stop Killer Coke also has a variety of useful resources on its website, including informational flyers, articles and special reports. The group also issues a periodic newsletter to keep interested parties aware of current events that pertain to campaign efforts.
The Campaign's offensive tactics against Coca-Cola are having an impact. Considering that Coca-Cola is one of the most powerful multi-national corporations in the world, it is impressive that numerous institutions of higher learning have already banned Coca-Cola products, and many more are taking steps to ban them as well. As awareness continues to increase, a point of critical mass will be achieved for which Coca-Cola will have to acknowledge and address the issue.
It is also important to note that the Coca-Cola Company owns numerous other beverage brands, including the healthy juice brand, Odwalla.
To learn more about the Campaign to Stop Killer Coke and to get involved in the efforts to stop the human rights abuses of the Coca-Cola Company, please visit www.killercoke.com.
http://www.naturalnews.com/z028844_Coca-Cola_Colombia.html
Sources for this story include:
http://www.killercoke.org/
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MorningLightMountain
17 years ago
I didn't know COKE was for "small cap funds", but not a bad idea, hard to imagine a world without coca cola.....Lord knows, I drink my share of it, why not own some?????...I imagine if KO or COKE ever collapses, it will be because civilization did as well, making it a moot point....
liquidity, stability, assets, one of the world's most recognized brands(#1 according to many).....a solid boring Co for the tough times coming.....and what's more American than COKE????
PS: also like the symbol for this coke bottler....."the name you know", LOL.....
http://www.rateitall.com/i-7570-coca-cola.aspx
http://www.ajc.com/search/content/business/coke/stories/2008/04/16/coke_earnings.html
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