While other companies hunker down to see where the world economy is headed, Coca-Cola Co. is rolling out 25 new product innovations this year, in the Russian market alone. A variety of new flavored waters, energy drinks & iced teas are also planned. These come atop of a pile of Russian product launches over the past 2 years that included Sprite Ice, Fanta Apple & Vanilla Coca-Cola. "There may be stronger head winds right now but, just as a sailboat does, we're going to keep moving back & forth so that we get through it," said Zoran Vucinic, president of Atlanta-based Coca-Cola's Russia, Ukraine & Belarus business division. Vucinic admits that the beverage industry in Russia is expected to contract from 12% to 7% this year. But without giving specifics, he says that Coca-Cola will perform better than the rest of the industry.
