Beverage major Coca-Cola India is counting on three big occasions this year to drive consumption after a difficult April-June period marked by unseasonal rainfall and weather uncertainty. The firm is now banking on the ICC Cricket World Cup, the festive season and the build-up to the general elections next year.
While the summer gives beverage companies around half of their annual sales, according to sector experts, firms such as Coca-Cola have been building what they call a “second season” to hedge themselves from the risks of tying themselves down to one big quarter. As part of the “de-seasonalisation” strategy, Coca-Cola has been looking to get more from its core product portfolio across seasons.
Sundeep Bajoria, vice president, India operations at Coca-Cola India, said, “We follow the philosophy of serving the consumer in every season and every market. This year, we are looking at three areas with optimism. This includes the Cricket World Cup, the festive season and the build-up to the 2024 general elections.”
The company is also counting on local variants of its popular drinks to drive sales, such as Maaza Aam Panna, Fanta Apple Delite, Limca Sportz, honey infused juices under its fruit nutrition brand Minute Maid, and energy drink Charged, part of the Thums Up portfolio.
While Thums Up and Sprite are billion-dollar brands for Coca-Cola India in terms of retail sales, Maaza is on its way to becoming a billion-dollar brand, Bajoria said.
And flagship Coca-Cola is aspiring to get into the billion-dollar league, he said, riding on in-home and out-of-home consumption, affordable price points and multiple channels of availability.
In the March quarter, for instance, the company drove nearly three billion transactions at affordable price points in India and expanded availability by 300,000 stores and around 40,000 coolers to improve penetration and reach.
For the Cricket World Cup, the company will leverage its beverage partnership with the International Cricket Council (ICC). This association,signed in 2019, is on till the end of 2023 and includes all key ICC tournaments. The deal was signed keeping India in mind, which is the beverage major’s fifth-largest market globally, sector experts said.
The Men’s ODI World Cup is slated to begin from October 5 in Ahmedabad and conclude on November 19 in the same city. Other match venues include Mumbai, Pune, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Chennai, which will provide companies like Coca-Cola on-ground visibility.
“Cricket is special in India and the tie-up with ICC and the Cricket World Cup is relevant,” Bajoria said. The company is expected to press all marketing levers to capitalise on the momentum around the World Cup. This will include both on-ground as well as on-air marketing, he said.
As far as the festive season is concerned, Coca-Cola India has been increasingly amplifying its presence during the period in the last few years with a huge distribution push in key markets, activating trade and ensuring availability across more outlets.
The festive season typically starts from August with Onam in the south moving to Ganeshotsav and Navratri in the west, Durga Puja in the east and Dussehra and Diwali across the country in October/ November.
This year, Coca-Cola has made an early start with festivals such as the Jagannath Rath Yatra in Puri, where the company’s products were aggressively pushed at the trade and retail level, Bajoria said.
The election season, on the other hand, will be leveraged by increasing presence through promotions and other marketing activities at election rallies and events, as political parties hit the campaign trail ahead of the 2024 general elections.