Coca Cola vs Pepsi

The Coca-Cola Company versus PepsiCo, Inc. Andy Berg Ufuoma Omosebi Intermediate Accounting III ACC305 19 November, 2011 Coca Cola and Pepsi are the two most popular and widely recognized beverage brands in the United States. Pepsi and Coca Cola contrast each other on their taste, its associated colors and themes, and ingredients. Even the pension plans and funding status are a competitive comparison. 1. Compare the pension plans of Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, including type of plan and funded status at 2007 year-end. PepsiCo, Inc. as a voluntary defined benefit pension plan that includes all full time U. S. employees and some international employees. This plan is a noncontributory plan; the employer is the only contributor funding the plan therefore they bear the entire cost of the plan. This plan is a qualified pension plan allowing tax incentives for employer contributions which are calculated based on employees years of service or a combination of service and income. In addition, Peps iCo offers medical and life insurance benefits and a retiree medical plan that are only funded on a â€Å"pay as you go† basis. These plans are not generally funded by the employer since they do not fund plans where no tax benefits are received. A specific dollar amount is assigned as a â€Å"cap† for employer payments the remaining funds are received from the retiree. Coca Cola has a defined contribution plan that includes all U. S. employees and some international employees. This is a contributory plan; both the employer and the employee make contributions. This plan offers substantial tax benefits for the contributions made by the employer. In addition, Coca Cola also has a defined benefit pension plan. This plan is considered a nonqualified, unfunded plan primarily for the organizations officers, most U. S. employees, and some international employees. This plan offers no tax benefits for contributions made by the organization. In 2007, Coca Cola amended this plan to reduce exposure. Each organization offers and sponsors 401K pension plans as well as medical and life insurance benefit plans for their employees or associates. Not all employees are eligible for  participation in all plans. 2 . Calculate the relevant rates that were used by Coca-Cola and PepsiCo in computing their pension amounts. Coca-Cola reported â€Å"net periodic benefit cost† of $108 million in 2007. PepsiCo reported â€Å"pension expense† of $329 million in 2007 for U. S. plans. All of the relevant rates used by Coca Cola and PepsiCo are shown in the notes of the financial statements listed in the comparative analysis. These rates are disclosed so that users of  the statements can assess the reasonableness of the assumptions made when calculating pension expenses and liabilities. The discount rate, expected rate of return on plan assets, and rate of  compensation are the relevant rates needed to make the necessary assumptions. The rates below have been taken from the Wiley Companion Website. The discount rate influences pension expense. Coca Cola’s discount rate used to compute  pension information for December 31, 2007 is 5. 5% for pension benefits and 6% for other  benefits. PepsiCo’s discount rate used to compute pension information for December 31, 2007 is5. 8% for U. S. pensions, 5. 2% for international pensions, and 5. 8% for other benefits. The expected rate of return on plan assets determines how much funding the plan assets will earn for the plan. This information is crucial for the company because it indicates how much additional funding will have to be provided to the plan above earnings to meet obligations. Coca Cola’s expected rate of return used to compute pension information for December 31, 2007 is7. 75%. PepsiCo’s expected rate of return used to compute pension information for December 31, 2007 is 7. 8%. Pension benefits are determined by considering the employees compensation level at retirement. Therefore, the rate of compensation or expected increase percentage is necessary to determine future compensation levels. Coca Cola’s rate of compensation or â€Å"rate of increase in compensation levels† percentage used to compute pension information for December 21, 2007 is 4. 25%. PepsiCo’s rate of compensation or â€Å"rate of increase in compensation levels† percentage used to compute pension information for December 21, 2007 is 4. 7%. 3. Determine which company you would rather invest in if you were a potential shareholder. Justify your answer. PepsiCo, Inc. is also a large company that has been around since 1898. They are also a leader in the beverage market but have diversified into another area; snacks. The diversity is pretty impressive. They also indicate stability and liquidity with favorable ratios. They have a 53. 15% gross profit margin for 2007 and less than 40% of their net operating revenue comes from operations outside the U. S. Coca Cola is a large company that has been around since 1886. They are primarily marketing and selling one product; beverages. They have a 63. 9% gross profit margin for 2007and show reasonably good ratios indicating stability. For the 46th consecutive year dividends have risen. About 74% of their net operating revenue comes from operations outside of the U. S. Coke and Pepsi trade in the No. 10 and No. 9 positions at 13. 31 and 16. 67. This may be explained by the relative growth and return on capital positions of the companies. Coke has a ROIC of 23. 91% annually for the last five years, and growth of revenue per share of 9. 29% per year. Pepsi’s ROIC was 19. 96% and revenue per share growth of 13. 43%. Assessing how the market assigns value to Pepsi and Coke may come down to a view that the foods division of Pepsi is more exposed to potential inflation and therefore requires a higher cost of capital to compensate for this risk. I would invest in Coca-Cola if I were a potential shareholder. The company generates significant return for shareholders. Fundamentally, Coke has generated 16-19% return on assets; 27-40% percent return on equity; and between $1. 6 billion and $3. 2 billion in free cash flow, with all three metrics peaking in 2010. Coke has returned to shareholders $27. 4 billion in cash the last four years in the form of dividends and share buybacks. The stock has provided a total return of 83. 81% from 2006 to 2010. 4. Determine which company you would rather work for if you were a potential employee. Justify your answer. If I had to choose a company to work for it would be PepsiCo. Benefits are important in any job selection and initially it seems that Coca Cola’s benefits are better however, after my review PepsiCo is a much better company. There is something more important than benefits; it is a feeling of belonging and being cared for in an organization. The entire time I was reading PepsiCo’s statements I got a feeling that they really cared about their employees, the community they serve and the environment. At one point, they even mentioned they cherished their  employees and encouraged personal as well as professional growth. They speak of product innovations; that they want to nourish consumers and reinvent brands to produce more healthy  products for consumers. They speak of partnerships with the FDA, The World Health Organization, and Alliance for a Healthier Generation for better focus on these innovations. They have given foundation grants internationally to battle chronic diseases and encourage physical fitness thru exercise and dance. They even have plants in Arizona that use solar power to  produce products. It just seems like a friendlier more positive company. References Kieso, D. E. , Weygandt, J. J. , & Warfield, T. D. (2010). Comparative Analysis Case; The Coca-Cola Company versus PepsiCo, Inc. Intermediate Accounting III, 13thEdition, 1072-1074& 1111. Kennon, Joshua (2011). Adjusting Pension Assumptions to Manipulating Earnings, How to Spot Signs of Aggressive Accounting, Retrieved August 13, 2011, from the website: http://beginnersinvest. about. com/od/gaap/a/aa090704. htm Coca Cola vs Pepsi TABLE OF CONTENTSINTRODUCTION 3 RESEARCH OBJECTIVE 4 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 4 SOURCE OF COLLECTION OF DATA 5 REPRESENTATION OF DATA THROUGH CHART 5 INTERPRETATION 8 RESEARCH FINDINGS 8 CONCLUSION 9 RECOMMENDATIONS 10 BIBLIOGRAPHY 10 QUESTIONNAIRE 11 INTRODUCTION PEPSI Pepsi was founded in New York in 1965. It is Producing Non-alcoholic beverage and Food processing items. Pepsi is a carbonated beverage that is produced and manufactured by PepsiCo. It is sold in retail stores, restaurants cinemas and from vending machines. The drink was first made in the 1890s by pharmacist Caleb Bradham in New Bern, North Carolina. The brand was trademarked on June 16, 1903. Pepsi arrived on the market in India in 1988. PepsiCo gained entry to India in 1988 by creating a joint venture with the Punjab government-owned Punjab Agro Industrial Corporation (PAIC) and Volta’s India Limited.Coke and PepsiThis joint venture marketed and sold Lehar Pepsi until 1991, when the use of foreign brands was allo wed; PepsiCo bought out its partners and ended the joint venture in 1994. Others claim that firstly Pepsi was banned from import in India, in 1970, for having refused to release the list of its ingredients and in 1993, the ban was lifted, with Pepsi arriving on the market shortly afterwards. These controversies are a reminder of â€Å"India’s sometimes acrimonious relationship with huge multinational companies. † Indeed, some argue that PepsiCo and The Coca-Cola Company have â€Å"been major targets in part because they are well-known foreign companies that draw plenty of attention. COCA-COLAJon Styth Pemberton first introduced the refreshing taste of Coca-Cola in Atlanta, Georgia it was May 1861 when the pharmacist concocted caramel colored syrup in three–  legged brass kettle in his backyard. He first distributed the new product by carrying Coca-Cola in a jug coin enjoys in a glass of Coca-Cola at the soda fountain. Whether by design or accident, carbonated water was teamed with the new syrup, producing a drink  that was proclaimed â€Å"Delicious and Refreshing†. Dr. Pemberton’s Partner and bookkeeper, Mr. Frank Robinson, suggested the name and penned as â€Å"Coca-Cola† in the unique flowing script that is still famous worldwide today. Dr.Pemberton’s sold 25 gallons of syrup, shipped in bright Red wooden kegs. Red has been a distinctive color associated with the No. 1 soft drink brand ever since. For  his efforts, Dr. Pemberton grossed $ 50 and spent $ 73. 96 on advertising, by 1891,Atlanta chemist as a G. Canler had acquired complete ownership of the Coca-Cola  business. He purchases it from the Dr. Pemberton family for $ 2300. With in 4 year his merchandising flair helped to expand the consumption of Coca-Cola to over $25 million . Robert W. woodruff become the president of the Coca-Cola company in 1923 and his more than six decades of leadership took the business of commercial success making16 Co ca-Cola an institution the world over.Coca-Cola begins as a never tonic, but candy merchant Joseph A. Biedenharn of Mississippi was looking for awry to serve refreshing  beverages. He responded to this demand began offering bottle Coca-Cola using syrup shipped from Atlanta, during a hot summer in 1894 RESEARCH OBJECTIVE 1. Consumer preference to buy Coca-Cola and Pepsi. 2. What are the factors would you consider to buy Coca-Cola and Pepsi. 3. What is the medium through which you came to know about Coca-Cola and Pepsi. 4. To offer some finding and suggestions to the company for the improvement of It’s  performance. NEED FOR THE STUDY In the present scenario the competitions between the soft drinks increased very high.The companies are struggling a lot to keep up their market share in the industry and to improve the sales of their products i. e. the turnover of the company. For this the company has to know their position in the market and the opinion and the loyalty of  t he customers and the retailers when compared to their competitor. Because of this reason the comparative analysis is very important and useful to the Company. By the use of comparative analysis the companies can understand the position of the company and the strength of the company in the market. Through the comparative analysis we can understand that what strategies the competitors are using for the increase their sales volume.From the study we can gather the information regarding the opinion of the consumers on the companies comparatively and this will help to plans for the future to increase the performance of the company and to gain the loyalty of  the consumers when compared to the competitors. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY We have done Descriptive research to find out our objectives. In descriptive research we use the Primary and secondary data. Research methodology is the way to systematically solve the research problem. The method used for the research is Descriptive Research to fi nd out our objectives. In descriptive research we use the primary and secondary both data, Sample Design for primary data have been collected through probability sampling.Data is Collected through Market survey in Delhi through Well prepared structured questionnaires were used in this study, which includes both closed-ended and few open-ended questions to get information based on the objective of the research process. People of different age group from different economic background were asked to fill the questionnaire containing 13 questions. Sample Size is taken 40 out of which 4 questionnaires had been rejected due to Mistakes, which was made by the respondents. SOURCE OF COLLECTION OF DATA:- All the useful data which were require for this research has been collected through Primary and secondary date. Primary data collected through Questionnaire Secondary data collected through Internet, Magazines and Newspaper   ASSUMPTIONS:-It is assumed that the chosen sample is the represen tation of whole population. It is assumed that information provided by the samples is accurate and best of their  knowledge. REPRESENTATION OF DATA THROUGH CHART RATIO OF MALE & FEMALE RESPONDANT Total numbers of respondent were 40 out of which 4 questionnaires is rejected. So final date interpretation is done on the basis of only 36 questionnaires. Total no. of respondents 36| | Gender| Number| Male| 30| Female| 6| Reasons behind choosing the product:- Total respondents 36| | Preference| Number of respondents| Taste| 28| Advertisements| 4| Thirsty| 5| Easy availability| 4| Others| 2| Effect of advertisement:-Total number of respondents: 36| | Influence of advertisements| Number of respondents| Yes| 14| No| 22| Brand loyalty:- Would you visit another store X, if you do not find it at your store. 71% of the respondents said that they go to another shop for their brand and 29% of the people said that they don’t go to another shop. Presence of pesticides:- Total number of resp ondents 36| | Respond| No. of respondent| Yes| 9| No| 27| From the questionnaire we came to know that 27 people i. e 75% said they are no pesticides and rest of them 9 people i. e 25% said Yes. INTERPRETATION On the basis research the facts which have come out:- Coca-Cola has a market share of 28%.The population between 12- 30 year prefer the cola products, while population above to 50 and below 12 prefer soft drinks, and population prefer in Delhi. Only 39% population only influenced by advertisement, rest 61% population believes that Advertisements are not much effective. 71% population are loyal to words there product. 25% population beliefs there cold drink have pesticide up to some extent. 65% of population is being influenced by taste only, while 9% population by Advertisements only. RESEARCH FINDINGS As it was 1st research Project of our life, so it gave us lot of experience which will be very helpful in our life. On the basis of that research we find that in case of beverage s people are much influenced by taste rather than Advertisements and other things. e come to know that Young generation is the biggest consumer of cold drinks than any other. By this research we analyze that male prefer cola drinks, while female prefer soft drinks. Frequency of consume to cold drinks is higher of male than female. By combining all the beverage verities we come to know that Thumps up is the market leader with 14 % total market share while Pepsi is the second highest market leader with 13% market share. If the Buying decision of consumer is rated – 1st preference will go to Taste, 2nd will go to availability, 3rd preference will go to thirsty, 4Th preference will go to Price. CONCLUSION For the purpose of the study, questionnaires were prepared for the Consumers.Care was taken to interview all types of consumers, i. e. , : a. Different age groups b. Males and females In all about 40 consumers were interviewed. The conclusions that one can draw from these answer s provided by the consumers showed that marketing activities do form a major part of the decision. One thing that was common amongst all the consumers who were once a day or once a week. The number one factors the influences a customer while buying a soft-drink was taste. This was true for all the consumers who were interviewed. The rest of the conclusions as deducted from the questionnaires are as follows: The younger generation preferred soft drinks to the older generation. a.Children up to 15 years of age liked to have soft drinks up to once a day. b. Young adults liked to have soft drinks up to 1-2 times a day. c. Adults liked to have soft drinks about once a week. Children preferred Coca-Cola. Young adults liked Pepsi. The older  generation preferred Coca-Cola. The reason given for choice of favorite’s soft drink was taste and easy availability. 90% of the people said that they prefer taste. Most of the people said that television advertising had a more impact on choos ing the brand. As everyone know there is a rumor of pesticides, but in our report we came to know that 75% of the people said they don’t believe in this rumors and only 9% of the people believe in those rumors.About the brand loyalty most of the consumers 71% said they visit another store if they won’t find the preferred brand and 29% said that they not brand conscious rather they depend on availability. RECOMMENDATIONS Though the coke is enjoying larger market share and it is market leader in Indian beverage industry. While with the 46 % market share Pepsi is on the second step. If we are analyzing properly then we find Pepsi is small product portfolio than coke, which is responsible for its second position. Pepsi should increase its product portfolio to capture the Coke’s market share. Companies should focus on the taste of the product because 90% population is influenced by taste only. Young generation is the potential consumer so companies should more focus on them. As we find that 40 % population consumes 200ml cold drinks.Which comes in glass  bottles, these bottles are being retuned back for refilling to companies? Which is incurred again cost of re-transportation. If company start to supply 200 ml cold drinks in pet bottles (plastic bottles) it will be good for company because 40% of population is using only 200ml. BIBLIOGRAPHY http://www. scribd. com/doc/48391213/A-PROJECT-REPORT-PEPSI-VS-COCA-COLA http://www. scribd. com/doc/30242566/Coke-vs-Pepsi http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Pepsi http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Coca_cola http://www. jyd. in/Summer%20Internship%20Projects/Marketing/COKE%20AND%20PEPSI%20LEARN%20TO%20COMPETE%20IN%20INDIA%20By%20Sahil%20Memon. df Business research methods (Zikmund) QUESTIONNAIRE 1. Name:- 2. Gender a) Male b) Female 3. What is your age? a) 15-25 b) 26-30 c) 31-40 d) 41-50 4. Do you know these brands (Coca-Cola & Pepsi) a) Yes b) No 5. Which brand would you prefer? a) Coca-Cola b) Pepsi c) Others 6. Which quantity of your cold drink you often purchase? a) 200ml b) 300mlc) 500ml 7. Do you think, pesticides present in Coco-Cola and Pepsi? a) Yes b) No 8. How often you consume Coca-Cola ? a) Once in a day b) Once in a week c) Twice in a week d) Once in a month e) When they required 9. How often you consume Pepsi ? a) Once in a day b) Once in a week c) Twice in a week d) Once in a month ) When they required 10. When do you consume above preferred brand? a) Travelling b) Party c) Thirsty d) Others 11. Important attribute for buying your above preferred brand ? a) Thirsty b) Flavor c) Availability d) Price e) Others 12. Give ranking to your preferred brand? ___packaging ___taste ___labeling ___price ___availability 13. Through which medium you notice about the above preferred brand? a) Tv ads b) News Paper c) Internet d) Other 14. Would you visit another store X, if you do not find it at your store? a) Yes b) No 15. Do you think that Coca-Cola and Pepsi both are lavishly spending on their ad campaigns to attract customers? a) Yes b) No