Last week, Atlanta, Georgia based Coca-Cola declared that will invest an additional $3 billion in India through 2020 to further capture growth opportunities in the country’s nonalcoholic ready-to-drink (NARTD) beverage market. With this new commitment the Coca-Cola system now plans to invest $5 billion in India from 2012 to 2020.
“Achieving continued sustainable, responsible growth in India is core to achieving our 2020 Vision of doubling system revenues in this decade,” said Muhtar Kent, chairman and CEO, of The Coca-Cola Company. “Our ongoing investment in India is focused on delivering innovation, partnerships and a portfolio that enhances the consumer experience, ensures product affordability and builds brand loyalty to deliver long-term growth.”
Coca-Cola India has registered unit case volume growth in India for the past 23 quarters, 17 of which have seen double-digit growth. Two of the company’s core sparkling brands — Thums Up and Sprite — are the country’s top selling soft drink brands while brand Coca-Cola is one of the country’s fastest growing sparkling brands, reporting 27 percent growth in the first quarter of this year. In the still beverage category, Coca-Cola’s Maaza is India’s largest selling juice drink.
The Coca-Cola family employs more than 25,000 people in India and is estimated to have created indirect employment for more than 150,000 people in related industries through its procurement, supply chain and distribution system. Atul Singh, CEO, Coca-Cola India and Southwest Asia, said, “India is a strategic growth market for The Coca-Cola Company, ranking among our top 10 markets in volume globally.
What this means
American companies from Starbucks, to PepsiCo to Coke are betting the farm on India’s consumer growth story. Impending elections in 2013 and the recent political drift in India is not slowing them down, largely. Last week Sweden’s Ikea announced a billion dollar investment plan for India as well.
