Even as Coca-Cola announced Tuesday that it had made its first billion-dollar brand from an emerging market, it was considering an IPO in that market.
Reuters reported that Coke made the announcement about Minute Maid Pulpy, a brand devised in China and brought to billion-dollar status there, and said the company was also considering listing itself in Shanghai. Minute Maid Pulpy has become the 14th of Coke's brands to achieve the billion-dollar mark, but, according to Andres Kiger, senior director of integrated marketing communications for Coca-Cola in China, it is the first to do so from an emerging market development and launch.
In a statement, Kiger said, "What makes this one important for us is that this was started here, in an emerging market, China, and that's a testament to China." The brand, released in 2005, is now sold in 18 markets, including Mexico, Malaysia, Vietnam and Algeria.