Coca-Cola’s incoming CEO is looking locally for its next $1 billion brand.
Henrique Braun, chief operating officer who is set to take over the top post next month, hinted at his plans to drive growth at the world’s largest beverage company during Coca-Cola’s earnings call on Tuesday. Part of the strategy focuses on identifying local, emerging brands that Coca-Cola can later scale.
“We put a lot of effort and discipline on how to prune the brands, learn how to grow them and leverage scale,” Braun said. “Now it’s about bringing more of those localness opportunities into the family and then accelerate.”
Smaller, local brands have found success at grocery stores in part because they can react quicker to consumer trends. Coca-Cola doesn’t want to miss an opportunity at a local brand which “can turn into a $1 billion brand later,” Braun said.
Three-quarters of Coca-Cola’s billion-dollar brand portfolio are outside of its legacy soft drink business, outgoing CEO James Quincey told analysts. Santa Clara, a Mexico-based dairy brand, recently crossed the billion-dollar threshold.
“That’s a great example of something that started locally, and then we invested behind it,” Braun said of Santa Clara.
Coca-Cola is not only looking to scale local brands, but also tailor its innovation to fit regional tastes. The company used consumer insights to launch Sprite Lemon & Mint in the Middle East, for example. Braun said the beverage giant’s innovation needs “to get closer to the consumer and improve our speed to market.”
“While we have made some progress with our overall success rates over the past several years, our innovation today is not where it needs to be,” he said. “We are striving to better anticipate the next growth opportunity in beverages and shape what comes next, driven by our deep consumer insights.”
Before becoming COO, Braun held roles at Coca-Cola in North America, Europe, Latin America and Asia. When Coca-Cola announced Braun’s promotion to CEO, it tasked him with identifying growth opportunities around the world.
The soda giant is in the midst of a restructuring initiative, with corporate layoffs expected to begin by the end of the month.
On Tuesday, Coca-Cola reported net revenue of $11.8 billion for the fourth quarter, a 2% year-over-year increase. The company’s 2025 fiscal year revenue rose 2% to $47.9 billion.
