A Strategy Based on Real Customer Needs

INTERVIEW - MIRKO GUTIĆ, SALES DIRECTOR AT COCA-COLA HBC SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO 

The past year was marked by numerous challenges in our market and across the region, from inflationary pressures and shifts in consumer habits to evolving expectations of customers and consumers who, in addition to high quality products and competitive pricing, increasingly expect comprehensive and positive customer experience. At the same time, changes that have become clearly defined in recent years show that today, more than ever, a balanced value for money proposition combined with premium service is highly valued. Market leaders are therefore adapting their ways of working and reorganizing their businesses to ensure that strong partnerships with customers and a genuine understanding of their needs remain at the core of everything they do. In an interview for BIZLife, Mirko Gutić, Sales Director at Coca-Cola HBC Serbia and Montenegro, explains how decisions are made in response to field demands and how feedback helps continuously improve both the offer and the overall approach.

What defined your business performance in 2025 and where was your primary focus in working with customers?

Coca-Cola HBC is known for placing customer needs at the center of its strategy. Which partnership empowerment models have had the greatest impact in the past period?

Our approach is tailored to the specific needs of each partner. When it comes to large key accounts, we aim to identify opportunities such as celebrations, anniversaries, or special activations and to offer customized solutions that help them stand out in the market, while also creating new occasions for consuming our products. At the same time, we remain strongly committed to the retail and hospitality channels, which represent an extremely important segment for us. The Coke Academy is a good example of a program through which we now traditionally bring together partners from these sectors and discuss concrete tools and knowledge for business improvement, such as delivering premium customer experience in hospitality or strengthening consumer loyalty in retail. We are particularly proud that this year we also launched online Coke Academy education for hospitality professionals, further confirming our understanding of their need for content that is both useful and accessible at any time. At the same time, we continue to value traditional in person gatherings, as these enable more direct exchange of field experience and open discussion about trends.

You lead a team of more than 700 people and recently went through a reorganization of the sales structure. What is the goal of this initiative?

The new organizational structure was designed to further support our strategic 24/7 portfolio approach. Although we are very satisfied with the feedback we receive from customers and the way they assess cooperation with us, reflected in an exceptionally high Net Promoter Score at the level of the entire Coca-Cola HBC Group, we are aware that there is always room to further strengthen partnerships. At the same time, it is essential to continue building a winning mindset among our people in the field and to deepen teamwork and cross functional collaboration, as all of this together creates success and differentiates us as a team in the market. Instead of being organized by regions, we are now structured by channels: distribution, key accounts, retail, and hospitality. This change enables us to leverage our knowledge more effectively and respond to market changes with greater agility.

How does Coca-Cola HBC Serbia apply sustainability principles within the sales function? 

Sustainability is an integral part of every business system that aims to grow in a stable and responsible manner. As a company, we strive to be a reliable partner not only through a broad 24/7 portfolio that addresses different consumption occasions, but also through our understanding of the wider role we play in applying sustainability principles. In this context, we support our HoReCa partners in operating in line with legal obligations related to packaging waste management. One concrete initiative is cooperation with a packaging waste management operator, where the operator takes full responsibility for non-returnable packaging. This enables hospitality partners to receive waste collection equipment, efficient collection, and buyback services without additional costs or administrative burden. In this way, we simultaneously protect the environment and build a sustainable system in which all participants, from producers to end consumers, contribute to the development of the circular economy.