Coca-Cola’s incoming CEO seeks faster innovation as low-sugar, weight-loss trends grow

By Juveria Tabassum

Feb 10 (Reuters) – Coca-Cola’s incoming CEO Henrique Braun said the soda giant must speed up innovation, as packaged food companies around the world race to keep pace with shifting preferences for low-sugar products and the boom in weight-loss drugs.

“We need to get closer to the consumer and improve our speed to market,” Braun, who is set to take over as CEO at the end of March, said on a post-earnings call.

The company forecast muted revenue growth for 2026 after missing fourth-quarter expectations, as demand for sodas weakened in North America and Asia.

“While we have made some progress with our overall success rates over the past several years, our innovation today is not where it needs to be.”

Rival PepsiCo said last week it was betting on single-serve packs to drive demand for its snacks, in another sign that packaged food companies are bracing for changing tastes.

Coca-Cola’s shares pared premarket losses to open down about 1%. They gained about 12% in 2025 and have outperformed PepsiCo over the past few years.

The company said it expects 2026 organic revenue to grow 4% to 5%, compared with estimates of 5.3% growth and a 5% rise in 2025.

“(The forecast) reads conservative, but is appropriate for the start of the year. Street likely wanted more,” said Jefferies analyst Kaumil Gajrawala in a note.

LEANING ON PRICE HIKES

Coca-Cola has been raising beverage prices to offset higher input costs, but that has weighed on the budgets of inflation-hit U.S. consumers looking for cheaper pantry options.

Last year, Coca-Cola rolled out its mini 7.5-ounce single-serve cans, priced at less than $2 in U.S. convenience stores, in an effort to target lower-income consumers and attract more people to try the product.

PepsiCo said last week it would cut prices on key snacks such as Lay’s and Doritos as consumers pushed back against several rounds of price hikes over the last few years.

Coca-Cola’s unit overall case volumes rose 1% in the quarter, in line with the growth it reported in the preceding three months. They were flat for the full year, while price, which was up 4% for the year, helped drive performance.

Volume growth was flat in the Asia-Pacific region in the quarter as the company battles a growing shift to regional brands, with China and India struggling in particular, executives noted on a post-earnings call.

Coca-Cola reported fourth-quarter revenue of $11.82 billion, compared with estimates of $12.03 billion. On an adjusted basis, it earned 58 cents per share, compared with estimates of 56 cents, according to data compiled by LSEG.

It forecast annual adjusted profit per share growth of 7% to 8%, compared with expectations of 7.9% rise.

(Reporting by Juveria Tabassum and Angela Christy in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur and Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)