*By Conor White*
The Coca-Cola Company has a market cap of nearly $190 billion, but the beverage behemoth still considers itself a small business. The largest small business in America, in fact.
At least that's how Caren Pasquale Seckler, vice president of social commitment at Coca-Cola sees it. "Part of who we are, is that we are extremely local," she explained. "We have 90,000 employees across the country, in every community in the country, through ourselves, our company, as well as our family of independent bottlers. So, we are literally a part of the community."
Among its social initiatives, Coca-Cola is launching the "Dear Future Community Challenge," encouraging 18-24 year olds to submit proposals on how to tackle community-specific problems. Seventeen winners will be chosen, and rewarded with a $30,000 grant to fund their visions.
Coca-Cola's involvement at the local level is just one detail that most consumers, and even some associates, aren't familiar with, Seckler said. In an interview Tuesday on Cheddar, she explained why it's so important for the company to share its story with the world.
"Consumers are demanding to know more," said Seckler. "So when we spoke to our consumers, they just didn't really know what we stood for, they didn't know what the company stood for, and they expected to know more."
It's no surprise that The Coca-Cola Company's decision to open its proverbial doors comes in the same era as the rise of social media.
"Young people appreciate authenticity and transparency and humility, and frankly that's who we are," explained Seckler. "We've been doing good things for 132 years, and we're just now starting to talk about it."
For the full segment, [click here.]( https://cheddar.com/videos/the-coca-cola-company-goes-local)
Ford is recalling more than 355,000 of its pickup trucks across the U.S. because of an instrument panel display failure that’s resulted in critical information, like warning lights and vehicle speed, not showing up on the dashboard.
Nvidia reported a 56% increase in second-quarter revenue and a 59% rise in net income compared to a year ago.
The Rev. Al Sharpton is set to lead a protest march on Wall Street to urge corporate America to resist the Trump administration’s campaign to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The New York civil rights leader will join clergy, labor and community leaders Thursday in a demonstration through Manhattan’s Financial District that’s timed with the anniversary of the Civil Rights-era March on Washington in 1963. Sharpton called DEI the “civil rights fight of our generation." He and other Black leaders have called for boycotting American retailers that scaled backed policies and programs aimed at bolstering diversity and reducing discrimination in their ranks.
President Donald Trump's administration last month awarded a $1.2 billion contract to build and operate what's expected to become the nation’s largest immigration detention complex to a tiny Virginia firm with no experience running correction facilities.
Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos claims audiences don't want to watch Netflix movies in theaters, but that seems not to be the case recently.
Chipmaker Nvidia is poised to release a quarterly report that could provide a better sense of whether the stock market has been riding an overhyped artificial intelligence bubble or is being propelled by a technological boom that’s still gathering momentum.
Cracker Barrel said late Tuesday it’s returning to its old logo after critics — including President Donald Trump — protested the company’s plan to modernize.
Low-value imports are losing their duty-free status in the U.S. this week as part of President Donald Trump's agenda for making the nation less dependent on foreign goods. A widely used customs exemption for international shipments worth $800 or less is set to end starting on Friday. Trump already ended the “de minimis” rule for inexpensive items sent from China and Hong Kong, but having to pay import taxes on small parcels from everywhere else likely will be a big change for some small businesses and online shoppers. Purchases that previously entered the U.S. without needing to clear customs will be subject to the origin country’s tariff rate, which can range from 10% to 50%.
Southwest Airlines will soon require plus-size travelers to pay for an extra seat in advance if they can't fit within the armrests of one seat. This change is part of several updates the airline is making. The new rule starts on Jan. 27, the same day Southwest begins assigning seats. Currently, plus-size passengers can pay for an extra seat in advance and later get a refund, or request a free extra seat at the airport. Under the new policy, refunds are still possible but not guaranteed. Southwest said in a statement it is updating policies to prepare for assigned seating next year.
Cracker Barrel is sticking with its new logo. For now. But the chain is also apologizing to fans who were angered when the change was announced last week.
