Table 2.

Summary of TCCC corporate activities in East Asian LMICs

Corporate activities	Actions	Example
Supply chains38	Activities to expand and control bottlers and manufacturers	TCCC reported on finalising the purchase of the remaining 65% ownership stake in Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines, Inc. from San Miguel Corporation.95
	Activities to expand and control downstream processes	TCCC partnered with the Philippines Department of Trade and Industry to provide financing to sari-sari stores, the primary distribution channel for TCCC’s products.105
Marketing71 72	Target audience	TCCC reports that younger consumers are the current and future driver of the success of the company.123
	Marketing technique	TCCC describes how the ‘Happiest Thank You’ campaign in the Philippines capitalised on feelings of gratefulness to encourage individuals to ‘thank’ their friends and colleagues by gifting personalised cans.132
	Marketing media	23 of the 41 marketing campaigns identified used either mobile or social media and online advertising as their primary means of marketing. For example, the ‘President for Happiness’ campaign in the Philippines.130
Corporate political activities52	Constituency building	The Philippines Chamber of Food Manufacturers’ website reports on upwards of 30 meetings with government agencies between 2014 and 2021.107
	Information and messaging	The American Chamber of Commerce in Viet Nam relied heavily on evidence stating that beverage carbonation may actually be beneficial in combating obesity to oppose a proposed carbonated beverages tax.113
	Legal strategies	The Philippines Chamber of Food Manufacturers made the claim that a proposed two-tier sugar-sweetened beverage tax was ‘illegal’.116
	Policy substitution	Food Industry Asia takes the stance that food and nutrition labelling should be voluntary and industry-led.119
Public relations58 59	PR activities relating to the environment	TCCC reports on the creation of a US$19 million bottle-to-bottle recycling facility in the Philippines.142
	PR activities relating to the community	TCCC has funded over 100 ‘Little Red Schoolhouses’ in the Philippines.136
	PR activities relating to the economy	TCCC claimed that its three bottling operations in Viet Nam indirectly contributed to more than 15 000 jobs across multiple industries.138
	PR activities relating to human rights	TCCC details its allocation of US$3 million to COVID-19 relief efforts in the Philippines.139

LMICs, low-income and middle-income countries; PR, public relations; TCCC, The Coca-Cola Company.