*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).
Although still early in development, blockchain technology, Web3, also known as Web 3.0 has been getting a lot of attention from some top tech names lately. Web3 is based on blockchain technology, which powers NFT’s and cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin. With Web3, users would ideally control their own data, rather than have it be controlled by a few large companies. But, Tesla CEO Elon musk isn't buying into Web3 just yet, tweeting over the weekend that the decentralized iteration of the internet seems more like a marketing "buzzword" right now than reality. Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey also chiming in to the conversation, expressing doubt over whether or not Web3 would actually be decentralized if ownership still belonged to venture capital firms. Parker McCurley, co-founder & CEO of Decent Labs explains the significance of Web3 catching the eye of the tech giants, and what Web3 could mean for the future of the internet.
Carlo and Baker cover the heartening news on the Covid front ahead of the holiday, plus President Biden punting student loan repayments again, a new space telescope and Love, Hate, Ate: Christmas Eve Eve Edition!
This year's worldwide semiconductor shortage limited the supply of everything from new cars to smartphones; and now, many in the chip industry expect the shortage to continue deep into 2022, and maybe even 2023. Semiconductor senior research analyst for Robert W. Baird & Co., Tristan Gerra, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Pavel Bains, the Executive Producer of MixMob and CEO of Bluzelle, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to elaborate on an opinion piece he wrote for CoinDesk in which he compares the cultural significance of crypto to hip hop in the 1990s.
Direct health care company Nomi Health recently raised $110 million in a Series A round. Nomi Health lets public and private organizations directly purchase healthcare at reduced costs, and pay providers in real-time. It also delivers healthcare directly to under-served communities via its fleet of mobile care units, which the company says is the largest in the country. Nomi Health says its mission is to improve the health care experience for all Americans. Nomi Health CEO Mark Newman joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Darby Fox, child and adolescent family therapist, joins Cheddar News to discuss how parents can navigate their child's mental wellness during the holidays.
A new series is looking to advance Black founders who have disruptive ideas and companies. 'Bet on Black' is a new series that allows black entrepreneurs to pitch their businesses in the hopes of securing $200,000 in funding. Revolt TV and Target teamed up to create the show. Detavio Samuels, CEO of Revolt, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
Bitcoin's rise to the mainstream has been a wild ride this year. The cryptocurrency is trading a little under $49,000 Wednesday morning and is set to finish the year sharply higher than where it began earlier this year. Ether prices also soared this year, rising from $730 per coin to nearly $4,000. Ben Armstrong, founder of Bitboy Crypto, joins us to discuss what's in store for crypto in 2022.
Misty Gaither, Senior Director, Global Head of Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging at Indeed, joins Cheddar Wellness to discuss some of the top motivating factors for job switchers, and advice for finding a fulfilling, long-lasting job.
