Reinventing Coca-Cola foods: expect new advertising, new products and more to increase brand equity and boost long-term sales. (Coca-Cola Foods)

Turning a company around during bad times can be tough. Restructuring when business is going well can be even tougher. But that's just what Tim Haas, president of Coca-Cola Foods, has been doing this year. * True, Coke Foods had a record 1993 with sales approaching $1.8 billion and operating income of $127 million, a 13 percent gain from 1992. Volume rose 16 percent to nearly 441 million cases. * But Haas, 47, and his senior managers saw more than just those numbers. They saw a division that needed to be thinking not only about the next quarters earnings, but about the long-term health and viability of its brands.

The result: 1994 has been a transition year for Coke Foods, Haas says. Roughly half of the 600 managers at the company are either new or in different jobs than they were a year ago. In addition:

* New research systems have been put in place to give the company precise information on retailer and consumer wants.

* New operations systems have been designed to streamline costs and decentralize decision-making.

* A new marketing team has examined the divisions brands and is prepared to reinvigorate such familiar names as Minute Maid and Hi-C.

* A major examination of the foodservice arena has produced a blueprint for expansion in that important channel.

Indeed, look for new products, new packages and new marketing pushes …