Coca-Cola to raise prices, citing costs associated with pandemic

Coca-Cola says it will raise prices on its drinks next year to offset the cost of packaging its products during the pandemic. 

Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey announced the increase Monday on CNBC on Monday. However, he did not say by how much or which products would be affected

"We are well-hedged in '21, but there's pressure built up for '22, and so there will have to be some price increases," he said. "We intend to manage those intelligently, thinking through the way we use package sizes and really optimize the price points for consumers."

The announced cost increase, follows the company's public opposition to a recently passed Georgia election law, which attempt to further secure the state's voting system but has faced criticism for appear to restrict voting, particularly among minorities. 

The costs to which Quincey referred are known as "commodity costs" and are what companies uses to determine their products' final price, based on the price of materials used to make a product, such as the plastic used to make soda bottles. 

During the pandemic, Coca-Cola moved away from bottling products in smaller containers, the way it did before the pandemic hit in March 2020, but to containers that are easier for consumers to buy and stack in bulk.

The last time the beverage company issued a price increase was in 2018 and cited former President Trump's aluminum tariffs as the cause.

Though also according to earnings reports acquired by CNBC, Coca-Cola said that their sales rose to pre-March 2019 levels, reporting a revenue of $9.02 billion as opposed to the expected $8.6 billion.