0394 War and drinks

During the years of conquest in a foreign land, the American soldiers' love for Coca-Cola gradually blended into the complex emotions of homesickness, patriotism and self-encouragement, and they even elevated this dependence to an emotional belonging that outsiders could not understand—]

There is an old saying that when a gun goes off, there are ten thousand taels of gold.

Coca-Cola seized the opportunity.

Not long after Coca-Cola appeared, another of its competitors, Pepsi, was born.

The contest between the two sides is similar to that of Wang Laoji and Jia Duobao, and they have made moves again and again.

Wang Liang said: "Generally speaking, when the war comes, the military industrial enterprises will be the biggest winners, relying on the government's large military orders to ensure the harvest of drought and flood, and make a lot of money. But how did this Coca-Cola, a beverage company that can't match the military a dime, become popular through World War II? ”

In fact, Coca-Cola had a lot of influence before World War II.

On the eve of World War II, the German SS was in dire need of a sweet and delicious drink.

As a result, Coca-Cola Germany agreed with Hitler to start building a bottling plant in the German-occupied zone.

After Coca-Cola entered the German market, it sold very well.

By 1939, Germany had 43 bottling plants and more than 600 distributors.

"In 1936, Germany hosted the Olympic Games, and Coca-Cola made a special advertisement for the Olympics."

Speaking of the 1936 Olympic Games, Wang Liang couldn't help but say a few more words: "It was the 11th Summer Olympics. Interestingly, the Olympics were held in Nazi Germany, and Germany rose to the top of the gold medal table, and this Olympics became Hitler's propaganda of Nazi Germany's great power. ”

"The Olympics were controlled by the Nazis from beginning to end, which played a role in fueling the smoke screen of peace unleashed by the German fascists, objectively whitewashing and propaganda for Hitler, and playing a very bad role politically. Three years after the Olympics, the Nazis launched a war of aggression that brought disaster to people all over the world, including the Germans. ”

It was precisely because of the outbreak of World War II under the Nazi dominance that relations between the United States and Germany were extremely tense and the trade embargo began.

As a result, Coca-Cola Germany was no longer able to obtain Coca-Cola's main syrup recipe from the U.S. headquarters.

Soon, Coca-Cola almost disappeared in Germany.

In order to keep the plant running, the new head of Coca-Cola's German operations created a new drink named Fanta, using ingredients that were only available in Germany.

Wang Liang further explained: "Because of the shortage of various materials, the taste of Fanta during the war depends entirely on the materials that can be found, so it does not have a fixed product image. ”

"The Fanta drink that everyone is familiar with today is a completely different orange soda introduced by Coca-Cola in Italy in 1955."

On December 7, 1941, the Japanese launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, a U.S. naval base.

In this way, the United States was forced to be drawn into the vortex of world war.

The once-tense war has put Coca-Cola's business in extreme difficulty.

The sales of cola in China are not optimistic, let alone the sales abroad, and it is a mess.

The sudden war made Coca-Cola face a huge business crisis.

But after the United States declared war on Japan, Coca-Cola saw a huge business opportunity.

Because during the investigation, Coca-Cola's researchers found that American soldiers fighting on the front line have a special miss for Coca-Cola.

In twenty or thirty years, they have become accustomed to that taste, that alternative feeling.

As soon as you enter your mouth, countless bubbles hit your mouth.

Everywhere I went, I felt intense pleasure.

When you're happy, you can feel the celebration.

When you are sad, you can dispel your sorrows.

Coke has developed into a culture of this country and a nation.

It's like Chinese tea.

Researchers found that 90 percent of U.S. soldiers said they missed the taste of Coke.

"Knock knock knock."

"Whew-"

"Hiccup."

I really miss it.

If you can take another sip, even if you are killed on the battlefield, there is nothing to regret.

In this way, the person in charge of Coca-Cola found a business opportunity, and if the soldiers on the front line could drink Coca-Cola, wouldn't this be an open market.

In addition, people in the countries where the U.S. military is stationed are also potential customers.

Coca-Cola has absolute confidence in its products.

Wang Liang shook his head and said with a wry smile: "So the U.S. troops who participated in the war became potential consumers and salesmen of Coca-Cola. ”

Subsequently, the president of Coca-Cola issued a public statement: "In order to support the just war of the motherland, no matter where our soldiers go, the company will not hesitate to ensure that each soldier can drink a bottle of Coca-Cola from his hometown for only five cents." ”

Soon, the officials also stood up in support.

On June 29, 1943, Eisenhower, the Allied Supreme Commander in Europe, sent an urgent telegram to Marshall, Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, in North Africa: "Our army has asked for three million bottles of Coca-Cola in advance, as well as complete bottling, cleaning and capping equipment that can produce twice the number per month. ”

Due to the tight delivery of military forces, bottled Coca-Cola is difficult to quickly deliver to the front line.

So Coca-Cola thought of a new trick and simply set up a bottling plant in the place where the US military was stationed.

At the same time, employees are dispatched to provide production services with the army.

Wang Liang said with a smile: "You may not believe it when I say it now, the employee who was sent to the battlefield to do Coca-Cola bottling work was awarded the military position of 'technical observer' by the US military and became a soldier, and the highest rank is colonel, Colonel Coca-Cola." ”

It's kind of crazy to say now.

But Wang Liang, a veteran, can understand.

These 'technical observers' are similar to the art troupes sent by our army during the self-defense counterattack.

Although they did not directly participate in the battle, they mentally inspired the officers and men who participated in the battle.

Wang Liang said: "Before the Second World War, although Coca-Cola tried its best to promote its products to the world, for a long time, Coca-Cola was only popularized in a limited number of countries such as Canada, Cuba and Germany. ”

During World War II, the Coca-Cola Company built 64 bottling plants in theaters around the world, selling a total of 10 billion bottles. As a result, Coca-Cola gained an overwhelming market share in European and Asian countries, and this dominant position was maintained until the nineties of the last century. ”

"Coca-Cola has left its closest rival, PepsiCo, far behind, occupying nearly 70 percent of the Coke market, and hundreds of small regional soft drink companies continue to produce a wide variety of flavorings, carving up the remaining 30 percent of the market."