Latin America has a vibrant food and beverage industry with a retail value of $90 billion , with The Coca-Cola Company ( KO ) having a 48% value share in the beverage market. The high levels of inflation, as well as currency depreciation, was forcing the company to continually raise the prices of its products, which consequently, had a negative impact on its growth. Moreover, the softness in the economy prompted the governments to raise taxes, including for the food and beverage industry, which hampered the purchasing power of consumers.