Coca-Cola is struggling with increasing global pushback linked to Donald Trump's belligerent foreign policy, with sales declining in nations such as Denmark and Mexico, and among Hispanic groups in the United States.
The decline, while not yet disastrous, accounts for increased brand nationalism and geopolitical spillover that's beginning to affect even the world's most recognizable brands, according to the Financial Times.
In Denmark, Coca-Cola's local bottler Carlsberg said volumes were "slightly down," blaming the decline on a consumer boycott fuelled by outrage over Trump's threats to buy Greenland. The situation was also escalated when US Vice President JD Vance labelled Denmark "not a good ally," even though Denmark is part of a military alliance with the US in fights such as Afghanistan.
“Danes are angry. They remember bodies of those Danish soldiers coming home, and now they feel disrespected," a Danish government official said in the Financial Times. That resentment has come to mean a visible boycott. Soda brand Jolly Cola, for example, has been enjoying a boom in popularity. Supermarket chain Rema recorded a 13-fold year-over-year increase in sales of Jolly Cola last month, as consumers boycotted Coca-Cola in favour of homegrown products.
Other regions of the globe are seeing similar trends. In Mexico, Coca-Cola Femsa—the domestic bottler—registered a 5.4% volume decline in the first quarter of 2025. The firm attributed a weakening of consumer sentiment as a result of Trump's new tariffs and geopolitical tensions. Sales dropped most precipitously in northern Mexico, which is home to numerous export-oriented industries that are directly affected by cross-border trade policy.
President Trump has recently imposed tariffs of 25% on Mexico and Canada, which were later partially reversed for products that met the 2020 USMCA trade standards.
Within the US, Coca-Cola had a different problem. Hispanic customers, alarmed by Trump's immigration raids and promises of mass deportations, have withdrawn from the brand, according to reports. CEO James Quincey explained that viral videos, some of them AI-produced, falsely blamed Coca-Cola for reporting undocumented employees to immigration officials. While completely unfounded, the videos circulated broadly and eroded brand confidence with a critical consumer base.
Coca-Cola also experienced a downturn in some Muslim nations, where anti-American feelings related to US backing of Israel during the Gaza war spurred demands for boycotts of American goods, including Coke.
Apart from these regional disappointments, Coca-Cola reported a slight 2% growth in worldwide unit case volume for the first quarter. The firm held that expense caused by the trade war would be "manageable," although it also admitted to increasing pressure on consumer expenditure in vulnerable markets.
“I believe some of the geopolitical tension was just making folks a little more conservative with their spend," Quincey said, citing diminished consumer activity and more subdued spending in the affected areas.
As an icon of American capitalism, Coca-Cola has frequently been caught in the middle of international political tensions, but seldom on such a massive scale. As geopolitical anxiety increases, the company now must contend with keeping worldwide goodwill intact in the face of mounting backlash tied to the Trump administration's foreign and trade agenda.
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