SEOUL, KOREA - The Coca-Cola Co. announced on December 24 that it will raise the average prices of some of its beverages, including Coca-Cola, by 6.5 percent, effective from the beginning of next year.
The company said that it minimized the number of items subject to the price hike to 31 out of 280. The scope of price hikes is also limited at within 2 percent of its overall sales.This was the first time for Coca-Cola to raise prices on its drinks since 2012.
The increase rate for the price of a 1.5-liter Coca-Cola bottle is 6.5 percent,while those for a 250-ml Sprite can 6.1 percent, a 600-ml Powerade bottle 4.5 percent, and a 240-ml Georgia Coffee Original can 6.3 percent.
A Coca-Cola official said, “Despite our strenuous cost-saving efforts to delay the price increase, we now have no option but to raise the prices due to hikes in the prices of major ingredients, a rise in manufacturing and logistics expenses,and an increase in sales maintenance cost caused by changes in retail environment.”