SOFT drinks giant Coca-Cola said its bottlers in India will scale up investments for capacity expansion to help the company maintain its market share.
According to its India and South-West Asia president Sanket Ray, its bottling partners will invest between $300 million (£221.2m) and $500m (£368.66m) every year.
As the Atlanta-based company’s Indian sales volume rose 30 per cent in the December quarter, it found a need for scaling up the bottling capacity mainly by taking up greenfield projects.
He said the investment plans of Coca-Cola’s partners show their confidence in the growth potentials of the company’s products.
“With the kind of growth we are planning (in India), the investment plans are very strong... We are scaling up investments in the supply chain significantly. If we want to grow those kinds of numbers, there’s no other way,” Ray told Mint.
“The bottling partners will not invest unless they make money and they see growth. They’re very positive about growth and investment.”
The company, which came up with its earnings report last week, said its Indian-grown brand Thums Up became a billion-dollar brand in 2021.
"Our local Thums Up brand became a $1 billion brand in India, driven by focussed marketing and execution plans," Coca-Cola chairman and CEO James Quincey said on Thursday (10).
Thums Up was acquired by Coca-Cola from Ramesh Chauhan of Parle Bisleri in 1993, when the American company re-entered the Indian market.
Coca-Cola bought the entire portfolio of aerated drinks from the Chauhan brothers, which also included Gold Spot and Limca.
Brand Thums Up was launched almost 45 years ago in 1977, after Coca-Cola had exited the Indian market after the Morarji Desai government had directed it to reduce the ownership stake of its Indian operation.
This is the first home-grown Indian beverage brand scaling to billion-dollar sales and is one of the leading players in the aerated drinks market in India.
For the three months to December 2021, the maker of Sprite and Limca drinks said its brands gained market share month-on-month.
Coca-Cola’s bottlers to invest up to $500m in India annually
Reena Barai, chair of the PB Conference, on the podium with Sadik Al-Hasan, Harry McQuillan, Shilpa Shah and Nick Kaye on stage
Yasmin Karsan, Pritee Panchmatia and Fin McCaul
Baba Akomolafe, Rachna Chhatralia, Patricia Tigenoah-Ojo and Raj Matharu
Shailesh Solanki 
Reena Barai 
Janet Morrison
David Webb 
