Coca-Cola logs strong Q3 with China top driver

China remained one of The Coca-Cola Company's strongest growth markets in the third quarter, helping drive global sales volume higher, the beverage giant said.

The company reported earlier this week that global unit case volume rose 5 percent in the third quarter, led by China, India, Mexico and Brazil. In the Asia-Pacific region, unit case volume increased 6 percent.

Global revenue rose 7 percent organically to $13.38 billion, while net income increased 10 percent to $4.05 billion, exceeding market expectations.

Speaking during the earnings call, Henrique Braun, CEO of The Coca-Cola Company, said the company continued to gain momentum in China despite a challenging consumption environment.

"Consumer sentiment in China remains subdued, with cautious spending and soft domestic demand. Despite this, we delivered another strong quarter of volume growth, driven by Coca-Cola and Fanta," Braun said.

He said Coca-Cola is continuing to invest in digital capabilities to create more consumption scenarios and strengthen consumer engagement.

"These actions are helping us grow immediate-consumption packages while accelerating significant growth across digital commerce and emerging channels," Braun said.

China has become an increasingly important market for Coca-Cola as the company adapts to changing consumer behavior through product innovation, localized marketing campaigns and digital operations.

During the quarter, Minute Maid partnered with McDonald's to launch a limited-edition lemon beverage and collaborated with popular intellectual property Joguman to appeal to younger consumers.

Coca-Cola expanded its summer marketing around barbecue and dining occasions in 13 Chinese cities, while Fanta partnered with hit game Honkai: Star Rail to strengthen its connection with Generation Z consumers.

Coca-Cola also celebrated the fifth anniversary of its partnership with Universal Beijing Resort through integrated online, offline and e-commerce campaigns aimed at boosting consumer engagement.

The company said its digital membership platform, Coca-Cola Bar, expanded its membership base by 49 percent year-on-year. The platform has been fully integrated with Coca-Cola's flagship store on Tmall to strengthen customer engagement, conversion and repeat purchases.

Globally, Coca-Cola continued to benefit from broad-based demand across its beverage portfolio.

Volume for sparkling soft drinks rose 5 percent, while the flagship Coca-Cola brand also grew 5 percent worldwide. Coca-Cola Zero Sugar recorded 16 percent volume growth across all geographic markets.

Water, sports drinks, coffee and tea posted combined volume growth of 5 percent, with bottled water increasing 8 percent, driven mainly by Asia-Pacific, Latin America and Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

"The quarter's performance demonstrates the Coca-Cola system's continued momentum and gives us confidence in our updated full-year guidance," Braun said.

Worldpanel by Numerator said China's urban fast-moving consumer goods market recorded year-on-year sales growth of 0.1 percent in the first three quarters, indicating a modest improvement in overall market performance.

Sales grew 1.3 percent year-on-year in the third quarter, as consumers continued to adopt a pattern of making smaller but more frequent purchases.

wangzhuoqiong@chinadaily.com.cn