Coca Cola HBC will step up investment in marketing next year, Chief Executive Zoran Bogdanovic said on Wednesday, after the bottler posted higher third-quarter sales as people returned to visiting restaurants and pubs. With input cost pressures high, the Switzerland-based company will also implement further “slight” price increases in the fourth quarter and 2022, it said. The company, one of Coca-Cola Co.’s many franchisees worldwide, suffered a setback during the peak of the pandemic as hospitality venues closed and hit its wholesale business, while retail sales to customers also slipped. However, overall volume growth remained strong with a 13.1 percent rise in the three months to September as HBC invested in sales via e-commerce channels. Product price increases in most of its markets also helped revenues. HBC’s out-of-home channel accounts for nearly 40 percent of its total revenue. “We’ve been ramping up [investments] already this year in marketing because that …