Coca-Cola India on Friday said it is seeing improved momentum, both in rural and urban markets, and hopes the upcoming festival season and ongoing cricket tournament will increase the out-of-home and at-home consumption of its beverages.
The statement comes at a time when several FMCG firms had raised concerns regarding sluggish rural growth following poor monsoon, weak consumer sentiments and inflationary pressures.
The company also said that it will continue to make investments to grow the business in India.
“In percentage terms, the investments we are making will be the highest that we have ever undertaken. The long-term story on India continues to be robust. Our spend in Q4 as percentage spend will be higher by 5-7%,” said Arnab Roy, vice president and head of marketing, India and Southwest Asia, Coca-Cola India, without divulging any investment numbers.
Asked if subdued summers had an impact on its sales, Roy said, “We had a challenging summer season, and it was tough. However, we continue to make investments for long-term. The demand sentiment is strong and we find the velocity good when it comes to consumer demand,” he said, adding that “Thumbs Up” and “Sprite” will see lot of investments with “Thumbs Up” attracting the bulk of investment followed by “Sprite”.
He said markets like UP and Maharashtra were seeing robust demand.
Roy said affordability will form the crux of its brands. “Affordable pack sizes will be big for us to boost demand. Some magic price points like Rs 10 and Rs 20 will be important for us and will continue well into 2024. However, during festivals large pack sizes will continue to dominate,” he said, adding that the company was bringing supply chain efficiencies to keep its tide over inflationary pressures.
In 2022, homegrown brand Thumbs Up had entered the billion-dollar club. It is one the marquee product in Coca-Cola’s portfolio. “Thumbs Up” is the official Beverage Partner for the Cup.
“We are activating our campaigns around both the ICC Men’s World Cup Cricket 2023 and upcoming festival seasons. ICC World Cup is a big platform with a great ecosystem. We are activating our campaigns around cricket with “Thumbs Up”, and for festivals we will be making a splash with Coca-Cola,” Roy said.
As the official beverage partners, the company said it has launched an all-platform campaign to increase its visibility.
Coca-Cola India’s beverage range include Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, Diet Coke, Thums Up, Charged by Thums Up, Fanta, Limca, Sprite, Maaza, Minute Maid range of juices. The company also offers hydration beverages, including Limca Sports, Smartwater, Kinley, Dasani and Bonaqua packaged drinking water and Kinley Club Soda.