Case Example. Read the following case and consider what kinds of major trends allow Coca Cola company to come up with this new K-Cup soda machine idea as a new business or marketing opportunity.

With K-Cup Deal, Coca-Cola Invites Itself Back Into Your Home

(By Venessa Wong February 18, 2014 in Business Week)

Americans have a waning taste for soda. Its not just the calorieseven diet soda sales are down. So its no surprise that Coca-Cola (KO) reported another quarter of falling soda sales in North America, down 3 percent in the fourth quarter compared with a year earlier. The companys solutions include pouring $1 billion into global marketing by 2016, which will come from cost cuts. Coca-Colas also finding new ways to get its beverages to more consumersfor instance, through the new Keurig Cold machines, as it announced two weeks ago.

A soda is a soda, whether it comes from the supermarket or an at-home machine. The apparent appeal of single-serve machinesin coffee, anywayis easy cleanup; nifty, gee-whiz customization; and the vaguely gimmicky flavor variety that tends to obscure how similar many taste. Keurig maker Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR) reported a volume sales increase of 12 percent for its pods last quarter, and even lesser coffee brands continue to see K-Cups as an exciting growth area.

In the world of soda, the zero-cleanup advantage doesnt apply in quite the same way as it does to coffee. But perhaps the variety of Coca-Colas fizzy beverages and noncarbonated drinks such as teas, enhanced water, sports drinks, and juice on the upcoming Keurig Cold system will be enough to dazzle consumers and help them forget the bad associations keeping them away from store-bought soda. It does give uncreative relatives who already gifted a coffee-oriented Keurig another gadget to wrap up, too.

Story: SodaStreams New Mainstream Rivals: Coke and Green Mountain

Coca-Cola Chief Executive Officer Muhtar Kent further explained the companys bet on Green Mountainin which it invested $1.25 billion for a 10 percent stakeas a bet on homebodies: When you look at how beverages are consumed at home, and when you look at trends in the next 10 years, people are going to spend more time at home. Theyre going to work more from home, he said during an earnings call on Tuesday. Home is going to be an even more important place for people, for consumers, and I think we need to be present there with different technologies, different packaging, different ways to serve our brand.

Of course, to listen to Kent you would think people around the world had been stymied in their efforts to drink cans of Coke while at home. A home-fizzed soda is still soda, only with more bells and whistles.

Story: Everyone Wants to Be in K-Cups, Even Coffee Laggards Like Krispy Kreme

Your Mission. Given your review about the case above, identify a list of major trends occurring in the changing market environment and how they are translated into the idea of K-Cup soda machine as one form of business or marketing opportunity. Also, provide your recommendation on if the Coca Cola company will be successful with this new idea.

Steps to Follow. It is recommended that students read the contents of each step and complete the missions for each step.

• Step #1: Scan market environment which is related to soda industry and identify a list of major trends happening in this industry. Identify at least 6 major trends in it.
• Step #2: After putting all the identified major trends together, discuss how students are able to come up with one new business or marketing idea called K-Cup Soda Machine.
• Step #3: Given new identified business or marketing idea, evaluate its feasibility using all or some of 5C situation analysis. Then provide your conclusion of whether this new idea can be accepted or rejected.