“Coca-Cola doubles down on beer and begins producing Cerpa beer from Pará”
Catalisi reports:
“Coca-Cola Andina began production of Cerpa beer, reinforcing its commitment to the alcoholic beverage market and expanding its competition in the premium beer segment.
“Coca-Cola Andina began production of Cerpa beer at its facilities, marking a new chapter in the history of the traditional Pará brand. Founded in 1966 in Belém, Cerpa established itself as one of the country’s leading regional breweries, recognised for brands such as Cerpa Export, Cerpa Premium and Tijuca.
“Cerpa had already been distributed in recent months by the Coca-Cola system, indicating that the initial logistics stage may have served as a test of the product’s receptivity in the markets served by the bottler. The decision to move to direct production now suggests a calculated move towards verticalisation, which increases responsiveness and profitability for both companies.”
Assessment
Coca-Cola has one of the most effective and far-reaching distribution networks in the world.
Coca-Cola Andina is a leading Latin American bottler and distributor of Coca-Cola and other beverages. The unhealthy drinks giant operates in Chile, Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay. It produces and markets Coca-Cola products, along with juices, water, and other brands.
Its decision to begin producing Cerpa beer shows how that distribution and marketing power is now being used to expand further into the alcohol market. For Coca-Cola it’s a strategy to maximise more profits that they have deployed in other parts of the world already. Examples are the United States, Japan, United Kingdom, and the Asia-Pacific region. It also means increasing alcohol availability in Brazil.
Coca-Cola Andina is locking alcohol into its vast logistics system, boosting profitability while amplifying the spread of alcohol products into new markets and communities.
Movendi International reported in March 2021, that Heineken and Coca-Cola settled a distribution dispute in Brazil and entered into a new partnership agreement to distribute alcohol. Now Coca-Cola is further pushing into the alcohol market and increasing competition with other Big Alcohol giants.
Global corporations are using their dominance to normalise alcohol and entrench it in everyday life.
This shows the bet global corporations are making to maximize profits from alcohol in Brazil. It also shows how health harming industries are connected in pushing for more profits.
Advocates have an opportunity to expose these links, strategies, and the motives – and conflicts of interest concerning the health of the Brazilian people. In this way, NCDs prevention and alcohol policy advocates have an opportunity to join hands in advocacy for policy solutions that curb Big Alcohol’s reach and protect people from health harming industries and their products.