The contamination was later traced to a c used in the cleaning transportation hemical pallets. The company was widely criticised for their slow reaction and handling of the crisis, severely damaging the company's reputation in Europe. Coca Cola is one of the world's most ubiquitous brands, with a massive global presence. The company's growth throughout the 70's, 80's and 90's was fuelled from double-digit growth achieved through expansion in international markets. Now that this spectacular growth had levelled out, the company is striving for new future growth opportunities for their drinks businesses. Bottled water was earmarked as the next big thing in the beverage industry, and the avenue for future growth.