The 2morrowknight

Photo Courtesy of Coca Cola

It’s been a week since I started hearing stories about how someone supposedly cracked Coca Cola’s secret recipe. I posted a few articles about it on my social media accounts, and I had a few conversations about it. After all, this is big news because the ingredients are one of the world’s most closely guarded secrets. But let’s be honest: Coca Cola is not worried.

Why, you ask?

Because Coca Coca isn’t selling its ingredients to consumers…its selling refreshment, a lifestyle. In fact, I would argue that it has some of the best marketing of any company in the world. It’s a worldwide brand because of its iconic and well-known print ads and TV commercials.

So no one at Coca Cola is particularly losing sleep over this. Yes, the story has been a headline grabber: “Coca Cola’s secret recipe revealed”. But even if its true, they would never admit it. To them, the ingredients pale in comparison to what the contents of the bottle represent to consumers.

Awesome! This is the type of forward-thinking, visionary creations we need to see more of: “a vending machine that chills soft drinks, and may in turn cool the planet.”

I love it.

The Coca-Cola Company is has pledged to replace its conventional vending machines with ones that are more friendlier to the environment. As it turns out, a lot of vending machines use hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) which can cause more harm to the environment that carbon dioxide (CO2). I have to applaud Coca-Cola for doing this. Green activists and organizations have pressured lots of global companies to change their practices. And rather than do something in increments, they came out in a bold way.

And it seems other companies have taken notice. According to Mature Mother Network,

PepsiCo installed 35 new, HFC-free vending machines in Miami just in time for the Super Bowl. These utilize hydrocarbons — think propane and butane — refrigerants already popular in Europe. Ben & Jerry’s ice cream company is launching its own version of this technology at stores in the Washington, D.C., and Boston areas. Meanwhile, General Electric is seeking approval to sell home-use refrigerators in the U.S. using a hydrocarbon refrigerant.

This is huge. I hope even more companies recognize the benefit of making their products climate-friendly.