Emerging countries

Characteristics

Emerging countries are exposed to greater political and economic volatility and have lower per capita gross domestic product (GDP) than our developing or established countries.

As a result, consumer demand is especially price sensitive, making the affordability of our products even more important. We promote our products through a strategic combination of pricing, packaging and promotional programmes, taking into account local economic conditions.

Most of our emerging countries are characterised by lower net sales revenue per unit case than our established and developing countries. In general, they also have a relatively undeveloped distribution infrastructure and a fragmented retail sector.

Our priority has been to establish reliable distribution networks in order to expand the availability of our products. We are achieving this through a combination of our own direct delivery system and independent distributors and wholesalers, where this is more efficient.

We’ve also focused on improving the availability of chilled products by placing coolers and other cold drink equipment in the market.

Trends and opportunities

Consumers are moving away from tap water and homemade drinks as their principal beverages and have shown an increasing interest in branded beverages. Some consumers are also showing particular interest in juices and branded waters.

We believe that our emerging countries provide significant growth opportunities. Some of the factors that influence these opportunities include:

• relatively low consumption rates
• population size, especially in the Russian Federation, Nigeria and Ukraine
• favourable demographic characteristics, notably the larger proportion of young people in countries such as Nigeria who typically consume a higher amount of sparkling products

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