A Proposal for a Standard With Innovation Management System

Ladislav Ludvík and Jindra Peterková
4.2 Characteristics of innovative entrepreneurial activities of the firm Kofola
Kofola, originally a small family firm, turned into a major regional player in a course of 17 years.
Kofola Group is one of the largest producers of soft drinks in Central Europe, with seven production
plants. It operates on five national markets of Central and Eastern Europe. On the European markets,
the firm is facing strong competition. Here belong global manufacturers of soft drinks such as Coca-
Cola Company, Pepsi, Dr. Pepper Snapple Company. In the Czech Republic, the three companies
control 46% of the market, 43% in Poland and 35% in Slovakia.
The company was established in 1993 in Krnov by buying soda factory and began producing
carbonated beverages. The year of 1996 is considered the official formation of the company. The
sales of the firm in 2011 were CZK 7.9 billion and profit after taxation was CZK 160 billion. The
management of Kofola still allows for the implementation of product growth strategy and regional
growth strategy. The product growth strategy was supported by investing in traditional recipes,
introducing new brands, penetrating into new categories of drinks and acquisitions. Regional growth
strategy was focused on regions without significant cultural and language barriers in the form of
regional product niches.
In assessing the innovative activities of the firm Kofola, we focused on Cola-like (the share of sales of
Cola-like beverage in total sales of the firm is around 10%), specifically Kofola, CITROCOLA and RC
COLA. KOFOLA drink is very important in the production program, which is reflected in the
development of sales (see Figure 4).
Figure 4: Sales of Cola-like beverages in the firm Kofola in recent years, Own processing based on
business information
The establishment of the Kofo syrup has been associated with the firm Galena since 1957.The
development of the syrup lasted for two years and is based on herbal and fruit extract containing
caffeine. The top in sales are considered the seventieth of the 20
ězdičková” hit the market. In 2011, another innovation
is implemented with a new drink Kofola Extra herb. In 2012 there is another innovation, with partial
substitution of artificial dyes with natural dyes.
th century. The stagnation of
production and sales occurred at the turn of the 80´s and 90´s, because of the entry of foreign
producers of Cola-like beverages on the Czech market. KOFOLA lost its popularity then and sales
went down as well. The turn came in the late 90´s. The new era of KOFOLA was associated with the
entrepreneurial activities of the new owner. In 2000, the beverage KOFOLA resumed its production. It
met a massive success. In 2002 the company carried out the purchase of the registered trademark
and original recipe of the beverage KOFOLA. The growth in sales is implemented by many successful
advertising campaigns and product modification in a packaging form, and in 2004 even by
modification of taste. Another innovation came in 2008, when sugar-free Kofola saw the daylight. The
company has been producing limited Christmas editions since 2007. In the winter months Kofola
Cinnamon, Kofola “Barborková” and Kofola “Hv
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