Stories related to: Coca Cola

Coke and Pepsi are testing new bottle sizes in an effort to boost deflating soda sales, reports the Wall Street Journal . Coke pulled 20-ounce bottles of Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Coke and other drinks from Virginia convenience store shelves this week and re-stocked them with 16-ounce and 24-ounce bottles. Pepsi plans to try out 12-ounce and 16-ounce bottles. More »

As the Beijing Olympics approach, advocates for a free Tibet and peace in Darfur are trying to hit the Games where it hurts: in the wallet. A coalition of groups has been petitioning the corporations that are sponsoring this year's Olympics to press China on their behalf. The strategy seems to be having at least modest success, writes the Guardian . More »

Lenovo execs were hoping for some major branding momentum from winning the Olympic torch design competition—not to mention from plunking down some $100 million as sponsors of the 2008 Beijing Games. What they got was anti-China vitriol that has accompanied the torch around the globe, and a marketing campaign fast going up in smoke, reports the Wall Street Journal . More »

Not everyone burns down the office in retaliation over a lost stapler, a la Office Space's Milton, but some pretty strange stuff goes on at work. The weirdest occurrences of 2007, according to CNN: Worker eats 32 vending-machine items to win bet with co-workers (and $300 for charity). Pepsi worker attacks Coke worker in scuffle over Wal-Mart shelf space. Man robs Domino's deliverywoman, then calls to apologize—and ask her out. More »

Charles Shulz hid his dark side amid tales of Charlie, Lucy, Linus and Snoopy, according to a new biography. Snoopy's romance was secretly Shulz's extramarital affair, and Charlie Brown was victim to the very buried rage that Shulz took out on others. An old pal confirmed this dark portrayal, writing that Shulz had a “mean streak” that led to “not so humorous practical jokes.” More »

Wall Street bit its collective nails today, with fear mounting that the Fed meeting tomorrow will result in a rate cut of only 25 basis points rather than the 50 traders crave. The Dow fell 39.10 to 13,403.42, the S&P 500 dipped 7.60 to 1,476.65, and underperforming tech hauled the Nasdaq down 20.52 to 2,581.66. More »

Travel & Leisure takes you on a tour of a fun-food factories, where delights range from twisting your own pretzel to sampling donuts hot off the line.  Some factory tours can even be experienced from home. Twinkie: Twinkies.com Tootsie Pop:  Tootsie.com Ben and Jerry's:  Waterbury, Vt. More »

The FTC dealt out 44 subpoenas yesterday to food companies, including McDonald's, Coca-Cola, and Kraft, seeking information on how much they spent on advertising to kids. The businesses have until November 1 to comply for a report the FTC is preparing for Congress on marketing practices and child obesity. More »

Pepsi has agreed to reveal the source of its Aquafina brand of bottled water on the label: the tap. In response to a backlash against the bottled water industry, the company will add the words "public water source" to each bottle, Reuters reports. Like Coke's Dasani, Aquafina is a purified water from public reservoirs. More »

Dogfighting charges against Falcons quarterback Michael Vick have all but killed product endorsement deals for the former marketing machine, the Atlanta-Journal Constitution reports. Nike is "reviewing information" in Vick's case, and expired contracts aren't being renewed with Coca-Cola, EA Sports, Kraft Foods or Hasbro. "He'll disappear like a magic act," said one analyst. More »

The Dow shattered the 14,000 mark for the first time in its history today, floating 22 points above the milestone but dipping just before the bell to close at 13,971.55—still a 20.57-point gain. A projection of relatively docile inflation, combined with continued encouraging earnings reports from retail and technology, boosted the market broadly. More »

Coca-Cola is talking to private-equity firms about purchasing Cadbury Schweppes PLC's Snapple and Mott's brands, the Wall Street Journal reports. Coke is trying to expand its presence in the fast-growing market for noncarbonated drinks--namely juices, waters and ready-to-drink teas, like Snapple. Mott's includes apple juice and sauces, as well as other items. More »

Coke has teamed up with Cargill to produce and market the all-natural, calorie-free sweetener rebiana, based on a South American herb called stevia. Coke and Cargill plan to market it in 12 countries that have approved stevia as a food additive, while attempting to win regulatory approval in the US and EU. More »

Coca-Cola is adding some fizz to its line of non-soda offerings, acquiring the maker of Glacéau VitaminWater today in its biggest purchase ever. The $4.1 billion purchase of Energy Brands will give Coke a strong foothold in the market for non-carbonated products and help it close the gap with archrival Pepsi. More »

A former secretary for Coca-Cola was sentenced to eight years in federal prison Wednesday for conspiring to steal trade secrets—documents and samples of unlaunched products—and then sell them to Pepsi. Joya Williams was nabbed after the FBI traced a letter soliciting a kickback from Pepsi, sent by one of her accomplices in May 2006. More »