In the United States, the percentage of children and adolescents affected by obe

Question

In the United States, the percentage of children and adolescents affected by obesity has more than tripled since the 1970s!!

Data from 2015-2016 show that nearly 20% (1 in 5) school age children and young people (6 to 19 years) in the United States has obesity.

This is do in part to the fact that younger people consume beverages containing high levels of sugar and

products containing high levels of fat. Consuming too many calories and not enough exercise are also issues.

  

As a well known industry consultant you know many of the beverage industry executives.

You are approached by a Coke executive who tells you that someone from Coke

is unofficially willing to sell Pepsi the Coke formula and the Coke marketing plan for $25 million.

The individual has access to both the vault and the bottling equipment so they can get the formula

and marketing documents with nobody at the Coca Cola Company knowing.

Imagine you are a marketing consultant.  

Discuss fully your concerns. What is the ethical dilemma?

Is it illegal to purchase the Coke formula and marketing plan? Explain fully your point of view.

Furthermore, what would you tell the executives regarding childhood obesity?


What are the alternatives? What are your recommendations? Why do you recommend this course of action?

Explanation / Answer

Ethical dilemma-

Serving the interest of the client (Pepsi) vs buying a trade secret of Competitor Company

Buying the formula and marketing plan will help to formulate a better competitive strategy for Pepsi. This, in turn, will help to increase its market share. But this would also spoil the industry landscape and favor one player using dubious means. Thus the consultant would be damaging the industry dynamics

Legality

It is illegal to purchase the trade secret of another company according to the Economic Espionage act of 1996. Coke formula is a trade secret held in secrecy for decades. So as per the act trying to buy their formula as well as marketing plan (which is also usually kept as secret) is a violation the above-said law

Childhood obesity

‘Childhood obesity is a major issue as this lead to many other illnesses both physical and mental sooner or later in a child’s life. One major cause of this is an addiction to junk foods like cola beverages. Business organizations have a responsibility towards their community and it is not just a complement, but a mandate so it is imperative for the client to start thinking about ways to avoid offering obesity-inducing drinks and opt for better alternatives like low-calorie drinks

Alternatives

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