Coca-Cola launches campaign spotlighting family-run hospitality businesses
One in two would consider joining a family business or trade.
Coca-Cola Great Britain has launched a new campaign celebrating the family-run pubs, cafés, takeaways and local businesses that help make, distribute and serve its drinks, alongside research suggesting these businesses are well placed to attract the next generation of talent.
The Counter Cultures campaign builds on last year's Bosses campaign, which recognised independent convenience retailers. It will run across social media and through large-scale murals in Leeds, Birmingham, Wakefield and Manchester, telling the stories of families who have helped produce and serve Coca-Cola while anchoring their local communities. At the centre is a hero film connecting Coca-Cola's Wakefield manufacturing site with local businesses, tracing the journey from production to the counters where its products are served.
New research released to support the launch points to growing interest in vocational careers. Seven in ten adults said they would encourage younger family members to pursue a vocational career, whilst 47% of millennials said they would choose that route if starting their careers again. Amongst Gen Z, 58% are considering vocational career opportunities and 52% would consider joining a family business or learning a trade that runs in their family.
Coca-Cola said the findings highlighted an opportunity for hospitality businesses, which have traditionally offered practical career pathways and passed skills from one generation to the next. Half of adults said giving more young people the choice to stay in or return to the communities they grew up in would benefit both local communities and local economies.
Across Great Britain, the Coca-Cola system supports more than 30,000 jobs and works with thousands of independent retailers, hospitality businesses and wholesalers. Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, which produces 97% of the Coca-Cola drinks sold in Great Britain, supports customers through a team of 750 field sales representatives and invests in future talent through more than 100 apprenticeships, including 65 early-career roles.
"Working with customers in every corner of the country gives us a close connection to the local retailers, pubs, cafés and other independent businesses where, for generations, people have taken their first steps into the world of work," An Vermeulen, vice president and general manager at Coca-Cola Europacific Partners GB, said
As part of the initiative, each business involved will receive a five-figure sum to support a local cause of their choosing.
