Coca-Cola India to expand production capacity

Coca-Cola India and its bottling partners are investing around $1 billion to expand the production capacity by up to 40 percent. The company is also working to expand its addressable market in the country by adding more products with relevant occasions, innovations and culture.

Globally, the India unit is only 2 percent of the business and Coca-Cola India has plans to catch up in the next five to seven years. The company plans to increase its household penetration in the Indian market.

Sanket Ray, President - India and Southwest Asia, said, “On average, a billion dollars is what we are investing in capacities. This year we have already gotten 14 to 16 lines; next year we are getting a huge number of lines. This will help the company expand capacity by 30 to 40 percent.”

The company is preparing to reach a larger consumer base with a new lineup of products, Ray added. The company plans to increase its household penetration in the Indian market. It had nearly 500 percent growth from the zero-sugar segment in the first half of the year.

Coca-Cola would also introduce low and zero sugar variants of its all-sparkling brands, including Thums Up, Sprite, Fanta, Limca and Maaza within a year to provide more choices to its customers. Coca-Cola is also taking energising drink Charged under its top-selling brand Thums Up to pan India after piloting it in Punjab.

During the company's earnings call, Coca-Cola Company Chairman and CEO James Quincey said, “In India, we delivered our best-ever quarter volumetrically that's 1 billion incremental transactions in the quarter led by affordable single serve packs. We gained share in sparkling soft drinks and juices and our system is continuing to invest in the marketplace availability and execution to capture growth.”