Coca-Cola India will invest $1.7 billion in India over the next five years as it creates a range of region-specific juice variants made from fruits native to the country.
As part of its Fruit Circular Economy initiative, the company said it aims to strengthen the local and regional value chain and drive demand for locally grown fruit across the country.
Indian fruits such as guava, dasheri mango, kesar mango and sweet lemons will be sourced and processed under the company’s flagship juice brand Minute Maid.
A national marketing campaign – Ras Ras mein India – has been launched to highlight the background and origin stories of these popular Indian fruits.
Earlier this year, Coca-Cola India launched a range of carbonated drinks called Kinley Flavors as it found itself increasingly at odds with cheaper local brands.
The company aims to use fruit products in four ways: enhance the portfolio of juices with fruits that are grown in various regions of India, add juice to sparkling products, create innovative new products with Indian fruits, and increase the share of Indian agri exports to the global Coca-Cola system.
As it expands away from fizzy beverages, Coca-Cola India has also introduced a line of frozen desserts called Minute Maid perfect fruit.
Made from real fruit, the new offering has a consistency of an ice-cream and is dispensed from a customised machine.
Coca-Cola India president T Krishnakumar said: “Coca-Cola is on a transformational journey towards becoming a total beverages company by enhancing its offerings to the world. Coca-Cola India’s relentless efforts around the virtuous Fruit Circular Economy, an initiative of using a variety of Indian fruits, is on its way to give better business results.
“Our linkages with the Indian agri-economy continue to grow strong and we continue to expand our product portfolio by utilising locally grown fruits to create new flavours under the Fruits of India initiative.
“Further, our entry into the beverage plus category is a part of our portfolio expansion strategy, with Minute Maid perfect fruit being the first milestone in this transformational journey.”
© FoodBev Media Ltd 2024