*By Madison Alworth*
Coca-Cola announced Friday it will buy the UK coffee chain Costa for a piping $5.1 billion. The deal is Coke's largest acquisition to date.
According to Wall Street Journal reporter Jennifer Maloney, this was a diversification move, and Coke CEO James Quincey's way to make good on his word.
"He wanted to provide beverages to people at any time of day and any occasion," Maloney said Friday in an interview with Cheddar.
The deal marks Coke's first foray into the hot beverage industry. The timing couldn't be better. With the [soda market] (https://www.businessinsider.com/pepsi-ceo-inda-nooyi-predicted-soda-declines-2018-8) continuing to fall, Coca-Cola is looking to add more options to its portfolio. This move is also just the latest in a bubbling trend of soda brands trying to please calorie-conscious consumers. A little over a week ago, [Pepsi](https://cheddar.com/videos/pepsi-adds-sodastream-to-healthy-drinks-lineup) announced its purchase of seltzer machine maker SodaStream.
Costa has a large footprint abroad with 3,800 cafes in the U.K. and a growing presence in China.
That country has been a target of the coffee industry as consumption of the caffeinated beverage continues to soar. Although Chinese consumers traditionally prefer tea, Chinese millennials are adopting java in droves. According to the International Coffee Organization and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, over the past four years coffee imports to China have grown by 16 percent a year compared to 2 percent in the U.S.
According to Maloney, China is Costa's biggest market outside of the UK. Costa has approximately 450 locations in the country and Coke's CEO is focused on that as a new market.
"He sees China as a great opportunity to expand retail locations," Maloney said.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/coca-cola-cozies-up-to-costa).
With so many nutrition apps, social media influencers, and diet trends, it can be hard to know where to start when it comes to getting healthy. Christina Jax, registered dietitian, nutritionist and health advisor, at the nutrition app LifeSum, says diets shouldn't be just about weight management. She joined Cheddar to give some tips on how to approach health and wellness in a holistic way.
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Coming off of a horrible week for Peloton on the stock market, another character from a TV series died after riding the stationary bike. Mike Wagner on "Billions" was the latest fictional tragedy, just a month after "Mr. Big" suffered a similar fate on the "Sex and the City" reboot "And Just Like That." Peloton tweeted it had not worked with the Showtime series on the episode.
Exercise equipment maker Peloton is attempting to run away from a recent bout of controversy. CEO John Foley published an open letter to employees on Thursday after reports that said Peloton was pausing production of its Bike and Tread products, delaying the opening of a new U.S. factory, and considering job cuts. In the letter, Foley wrote that the information in the reports was 'incomplete,' 'out of context,' and not reflective of Peloton's strategy. Peloton's stock responded on Friday, with shares bouncing back after falling nearly 24% in the regular session on Thursday. CFRA Research's Director of Research Ken Leon joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
