If Coke Can, Why Can’t We?

The Hotpot | January 2026 | By Lisanne

16.1

No matter where I travel in the world, Coke seems to be everywhere.

In a tiny village where the road turns to dust,
a fridge hums in the heat, electricity flickers, and running water is scarce…
there always seems to be a crate of Coca-Cola stacked beside the food stall.

Which leaves me with a question.

If a simple soda can reach the farthest corners of the world…
why can’t clean water, education, or healthcare do the same?

That question should at least make us pause.

Because if something as non-essential as a fizzy drink can reach the farthest edges of the map, maybe the problem wasn’t scarcity after all.

Melinda Gates makes the same point in her TED Talk: the world’s most powerful consumer brand reaches places that life-saving products often don’t—not by accident, but by design.

They track what’s needed based on real-time data, use localized and aspirational marketing to get their message across, and rely on people within the communities to get the product where it needs to go.

Coke solved the “last mile” problem decades ago.
Clean water, education, and healthcare haven’t had the same obsession—yet.

But the lessons are there.

And I can’t help wondering: if nonprofits borrowed from the Coca-Cola playbook—two worlds that couldn’t be further apart—perhaps basic needs wouldn’t feel so out of reach for millions.

Thank you for reading! The question of today:

What could you learn from someone in your field who seems your complete opposite?

Let me know in the comments!

Curious to see more reflections like this? Click through to see the rest of the series on success. I’d love to hear what resonates with you.