India is now the fifth largest market by volume for Coca-Cola globally and the company aims to double the business size in five years.
“Coca-Cola India became the fifth largest market as it reached the milestone of selling 1-billion-unit case in 2019," James Quincey, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer said at an event in Mumbai on March 2.
The US is the biggest market for the company followed by Mexico, China and Brazil in that order.
“It took 21 years for the company to achieve the mark of 1 billion case unit sales in a year in 2019, and now our target is to take the number up to 2 billion units in five years,” Quincey said.
India has been contributing to "solid growth" and presents a promising opportunity to become one of the top three markets for the company soon, he said.
NYSE-listed Coca-Cola is the world’s largest beverage company with more than 500 brands sold across 200 countries.
Coca-Cola has made strong value share gains with contribution from both sparkling and non-sparkling offering. However, Quincey did not share any numbers.
As a part of the company’s refreshed approach, Coca-Cola India will continue to grow its core brands by rolling out new variants across Thums Up, Limca, Fanta, Sprite and Maaza, including no-sugar extensions.
Quincey said the company will also look to diversify its portfolio by entering new beverage categories like enchanted hydration, nutritious dilutable and beverage-plus at affordable price points.
The company plans to market Coca-Cola India’s homegrown brand Maaza, globally, he said.
“In 2017, Coca-Cola had committed $1.7 billion (Rs 11,000 crore) towards the Indian agri-ecosystem for the next five years under its Fruit Circular Economy Initiative, and we will stick to that target,” Quincey said without specifying the total investment.
On the current slowdown in the economy, he said the company has not been affected much. There is neither an uptick or downturn in sales, he said, adding that 2020 may, however, witness a sales surge.
The company, Quincey said, has so far not seen any significant impact of the coronavirus outbreak on its supply chain but it may hurt if it prolongs.
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