Coca-Cola is shifting from a decades-old volume-chasing playbook to a data-driven approach that uses artificial intelligence to serve premium and value consumers simultaneously, according to President and CFO John Murphy at Deutsche Bank's dbAccess Global Consumer Conference on June 5.
The pivot reflects the post-pandemic reality: consumers face uneven financial pressure. Some can afford price increases; others cannot. The company calls this segmentation the "K-shaped economy," and it means abandoning the assumption that all volume growth matters equally.
From volume to value equation
For years, Coca-Cola's strategy was straightforward: push for market share by volume. That changed after 2020. In the two to three years following the pandemic, the company raised prices and found consumers largely willing to pay, Murphy said. But that math does not work indefinitely. "Doing it for a couple of years does not mean it's the right thing to do for many years," he said.
The shift to a "value equation" means Coca-Cola now judges success by revenue per customer, not units sold. This matters because consumers globally face financial pressure. "We have a choice to stay relevant with them or not," Murphy said.
AI as growth engine, not cost cutter
Coca-Cola's retail growth management (RGM) system now uses AI to develop both premium and value product lines, Murphy explained. This contrasts with how many firms deploy AI, which is primarily to cut labor. Instead, Murphy frames AI as "more of a growth enabler than a cost reducer."
The company cited its Core Power high-protein shake brand, made by Fairlife, as an example of how it serves higher-margin categories within a wallet-constrained customer base.
New CEO pushes underdeveloped markets
Incoming CEO Henrique Braun, who took the helm in March after nearly three decades at Coca-Cola and most recently served as chief operating officer, is driving sharper focus on less-developed regions within the company's 200-plus brands across 200+ countries. "The idea of demanding more from more markets is something that he's bringing loud and clear into our system," Murphy said, noting that Braun brings "new energy" and "sharper thinking into areas that we need to be better at."
Global complexity as moat
Coca-Cola's geographic and portfolio breadth creates an advantage over smaller competitors. Developing markets have shown more volatility in recent years, but the company's scale allows it to innovate with precision across customer segments. "Sometimes complexity means that nobody else can do it, and in its own way that offers us an advantage in the United States," Murphy said.