The competitive marketplace

In order to succeed in the cutthroat business environment, a company needs a durable competitive advantage. Coca-Cola Corporation is one such organization. It is a worldwide corporation that engages in the production, marketing, and distribution of beverages. It is an American firm best known for its signature beverage, Coca-Cola. Due to the competitive advantage it obtains from its special formula, the Coca-Cola Corporation has been able to maintain its position in the global market. It has successfully applied this strategy throughout time to establish a competitive edge over other beverage producers including PepsiCo Inc. and Monster Beverage Corporation (Finance.yahoo.com, 2015). The resource that the company has access to is the coca cola secret recipe. This is a resource that the company has kept secret for over 125 years. The coca cola secret formula has given the company a competitive advantage in the beverage market. As a matter of fact, Coca-Cola Corporation is the leading beverage seller globally. Given that the company has managed to keep it secret for over 125 years speaks to its sustainability (Ferretti, 2011). The secret formula conforms to the characteristics of a unique resource in the following manner; it has value, it is rare, it is hard for competitors to duplicate and it is at the disposal of the company for exploitation.

The characteristics of the secret formula that give the company a sustainable competitive advantage are discussed in this paragraph. The formula has value owing to the fact that it is a coveted formula. It can make the coca cola beverages attractive to almost everyone who has access to it. Additionally, it is of consistent taste which means that the beverages taste the same everywhere. The formula is rare. Several people have claimed to have found it but these are often false alarms. There has been no officially recognized alternative sample for the formulas. As such, it is only the coca cola Corporation that has the formula. This rarity has comes about as a result of the toughness associated with duplicating the Coca-Cola beverage. At present, since its inception, no person has managed to replicate the syrup that the company uses in its beverages. This means that the syrup and the formula are entirely at the company’s disposal. It is only the coca cola Corporation that can exploit the formula. These factors combine to produce a product or lines of products that stand out in the market (Collier).

The Coca-Cola Corporation has effectively used the secret formula and these characteristics to make its presence dominant in the global market. The corporation has diversified its line of products to include bottled water, mobile applications development and movie production. As much as these do not have a secret formula, they actually ride on the success that the secret formula has brought to the company.

Additionally, the coca cola Corporation has bought out some competitors in a bid to strengthen its global presence. As part of strengthening its brand and image, the coca cola Corporation has proceeded to patent the container shapes that hold its beverages. This is particularly true for the contour shaped glass bottle that holds the coca cola beverage. This has ensured that the company has a consistent image in the market. As a matter of fact, when an individual shopping sees the contoured bottle, he/she can immediately tell, that there is a coca cola beverage on sale there. This is a marketing strategy that is part of the uniqueness of the coca cola corporation resources.

Works Cited

Collier. (n.d.). Coca Cola's Competitors. Retrieved January 06, 2016, from ba.ttu.edu:

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=23&ved=0ahUKEwitguHHq63RAhXlCcAKHe36BRwQFgh5MBY&url=http%3A%2F%2Fkimboal.ba.ttu.edu%2FMGT%25204380%2520Fall%25202012%2F001%2FCoca%2520Cola%2520Company%2520Presentation.pptx&usg=AFQjCNGGW0nZgXjM

Ferretti. (2011, April 5). Food's Five Biggest Secret Recipes, and How They Are Kept Safe.

Retrieved January 06, 2016, from foxnews.com: http://www.foxnews.com/food-drink/2011/04/05/foods-five-biggest-secret-recipes-and-how-are-kept-safe.html

Finance.yahoo.com. (2015, December 31). The Coca-Cola Company. Retrieved January 06,

2016, from finance.yahoo.com: https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/KO/profile