Working Together to Win

M. Ryan McCann
Coca-Cola North America
Global Account Director


I’ve been in my current role as your Coca-Cola global account director for about 90 days, and I really appreciate everyone making me feel so welcome in this special organization. As I think back to the Global Rally that took place in San Diego earlier this year, I recall John Ross saying, “IGA is like a family” and I could not agree more with him. I’m very excited about working with you to grow your beverage business—a business that I believe has a very bright future.

In these first three months I’ve really spent most of my time listening to the you the entrepreneurs, local Coke bottlers, and other key stakeholders. My objective was to gain a better understanding of the business and identify ways Coca-Cola can add value from a national perspective to the IGA system. I appreciate the feedback and coaching that I’ve received—and also your candor. One of the things that resonated with me is the passion that everyone shares for the business and for their local communities, which I believe is a recipe to win. With that in mind, I wanted to take this opportunity to share with you what I’ve seen in the marketplace and how we can continue to improve in the future.

Forecast for the Future

First, as a framework, I wanted to give you a quick update on the non-alcohol beverage business. The good news is the non-alcohol beverage business is healthy and growing.

The category is large at ~$200 billion dollars (about the same size as U.S. commercial aviation) and set to get bigger. The growth in 2018 outpaced retail by almost two percent (see picture below), and the forecasted compound annual growth rate to 2021 is around three percent. 2018 was also the strongest dollar growth since 2015, with increases experienced across most categories and channels.

Source: Nielsen Planners AOCx+CR All Dept. excluded variable weight perishables, CCNA Nielsen Scantrack

Below is a snapshot of the industry value growth by category until 2021, which shows significant sales opportunities in categories ranging from tea and energy drinks to coffee and water. My goal is to make sure every IGA retailer has the categories and brands the shoppers are looking for in the stores. Please work with your local Coca-Cola bottlers to see what categories you might need to expand or add to ensure that you are capturing this growth.

Sources: CCNA Internal Estimates, based on update published Dec. 2018; Note:  Expected industry growth for nonalcoholic ready-to-drink, excludes conventional dairy, bulk water and dispensed coffee

Your Coke Offers at a Glance 

As I mentioned, I had to the opportunity earlier this year to attend the Global Rally in San Diego. I recall John Ross saying from the stage, “If we want to be treated like a national retailer, we need to act like one.” IGA’s National Digital Ad has opened the door for that to happen; now the key to our success is making sure we’re all working together get the full potential from the ad.

Coke will continue to support the National Digital Ad for the balance of the year with exceptional offers exclusive to IGA. I wanted to share with you the tentative calendar of Coca-Cola National Digital offers so you can prepare in advance and be ready to execute in your stores. 

Seizing the Opportunity 

IGA’s National Digital Ad has great offers from the country’s top manufacturers, however as I’ve been out conducting store visits, I’ve noticed that we are not doing a great job executing the play. If we’re truly going to use the ad to level the playing field in this highly competitive marketplace, we need each and every IGA retailer to embrace—and promote—the ad to their shoppers.

The NDA is not expected to take the place of your weekly circular, but is another way to reach additional shoppers. Keep in mind that the shopper doesn’t have to do anything to get this offer, just meet the purchase requirements and the offer/discount shows up on their receipt. It’s that simple, but the only way it works to increase traffic is if your shoppers know about the offers. Yes, they can find the ad on the Flipp app, and hundreds of thousands of shoppers do just that each week. But to truly take full advantage of the power of your ad, promotion in the store is also critical. Using the IGA provided promotional resources (like the aisle signs you see below) is critical to the success of the program. Visit the National Digital Ad page of IGA.com for tools and resources, and be sure to read 5 Steps to Maximizing Your National Digital Ad Offers for quick and easy tips for promoting to shoppers.

Thanks again for the opportunity to share my initial thoughts on the business. I look forward to seeing you in the market and as always, please feel free to contact me if I can be of any assistance. It’s a privilege to work with you and your team to grow your beverage business. The future is bright, especially under IGA CEO John Ross’ leadership, and I’m very excited to work with all of you.

Coca-Cola North America
Global Account Director
mrmccann@coca-cola.com