Back to The Business of the Coca-Cola Company
The principal raw material used by the Company's business in the United States is high fructose corn syrup, a form of sugar, which is available from numerous domestic sources and is historically subject to fluctuations in its market price.
The principal raw material used by the Company's business outside the United States is sucrose.
The Company has a specialized sweetener procurement staff and has not experienced any difficulties in obtaining its requirements. In the United States and certain other countries, the Company has authorized the use of high fructose corn syrup in syrup for Coca-Cola and other Company Trademark Beverages for use in both fountain syrup and finished beverages in bottles and cans.
Generally, raw materials utilized by the Company in its business are readily available from numerous sources. However, aspartame, which is usually used alone or in combination with either saccharin or acesulfame potassium in the Company's lowcalorie soft drink products, is currently purchased by the Company primarily from The NutraSweet Kelco Company, a subsidiary of Monsanto Company, and from Holland Sweetener. Acesulfame potassium is currently purchased from Hoechst Aktiengesellschaft.
With regard to juice and juice-drink products, the citrus industry is subject to the variability of weather conditions, in particular the possibility of freezes in central Florida, which may result in higher prices and lower consumer demand for orange juice throughout the industry. Due to the Company's longstanding relationship with a supplier of high-quality Brazilian orange juice concentrate, the supply of juice available that meets the Company's standards is normally adequate to meet demand.