(Bloomberg) -- Coca-Cola Co. Chief Executive Officer James Quincey expects consumer prices for the company’s beverages to moderate in the year ahead, after several quarters of price hikes to offset rising costs for commodities and other inputs.

In 2024, “you’ll see normalized pricing levels in the majority of countries,” Quincey said in an interview Tuesday.

Inflation remains a pitched issue in the US despite moderation. President Joe Biden is pressuring grocery stores and consumer-products companies to stop using higher prices to improve corporate profits. Still, the latest government data shows food contributing to a jump in prices at the start of the year.

The Atlanta-based giant, whose brands include Powerade, Fanta and Minute Maid, said that the increase in prices across a mix of its products was 9% in the fourth quarter, more than analysts expected. Quincey said the rise was largely driven by hyperinflation in certain parts of the world. Coca-Cola’s price increase across the mix of goods in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, was 24% in the quarter. 

The company gave a 2024 organic revenue outlook that beat expectations, with a diverse group of products expected to boost results. Coca-Cola forecasts organic revenue growth of 6% to 7%, ahead of analysts’ expectations for 5.9% growth. Organic revenue growth was 12% in the most recent quarter, which was ahead of estimates.

“We’ve been investing in our marketing and our innovation and our execution with bottlers,” Quincey said. “That’s what we see carrying us into 2024.”

Coca-Cola said that global unit case volume increased by 2% in the quarter, driven by Latin America and Asia, falling just short of estimates. North America case volume declined 1%.

The company is working to offset the long decline in consumption of sweet, carbonated beverages, Quincey said, by offering more beverages with no sugar and by adjusting packaging and container sizes. In the last year, he said, volumes were impacted by a decrease in purchases among lower-income consumers. 

“A section of US consumers came under pressure in 2023,” Quincey said. “We are making sure we have affordable options that allow people to stay within the franchise.”

PepsiCo Inc. — the maker of Gatorade, Mountain Dew and Frito-Lay’s snacks — last week reported revenue that missed expectations and volume declines in its North American food and beverage units. Category growth is normalizing as consumer behavior returns to pre-pandemic norms, PepsiCo CEO Ramon Laguarta said.

“Both Coca-Cola and PepsiCo have got to do a lot better on the volume side,” beverage industry consultant John Sicher said. “Their ability to raise prices is decreasing now. They have to figure out a way to reignite volume growth, or a way to diversify.” Later this month, Coca-Cola will release its first new permanent flavor in several years, a raspberry-flavored drink called Coca-Cola Spiced.

“Geopolitical events” adversely impacted the business as well, Quincey said. “The conflict in the Middle East is impacting the business, in different countries in different ways. And the conflict in the Ukraine has had an impact... We’ve just got to manage our way through.”

Shares rose 0.5% at 9:33 a.m. on Tuesday in New York.

(Updates shares and with CEO comments.)

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