Coca-Cola stays bullish on long-term India growth despite summer slump
“In India, after a strong start to the year, volumes declined as our business was impacted by early monsoons and geopolitical conflict early in the important summer season,” said Chairman and CEO James Quincey during the Q2 earnings call.
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The Coca-Cola Company is doubling down on its commitment to the India market despite a summer setback, unveiling a refreshed strategy anchored in hyper-local marketing, digital expansion and bottling transformation. The move comes even as the beverage giant reported a decline in Indian volumes during the critical summer quarter, citing early monsoons and regional geopolitical tensions including the India-Pakistan conflict as key disruptors of consumer sentiment.
“In India, after a strong start to the year, volumes declined as our business was impacted by early monsoons and geopolitical conflict early in the important summer season,” said Chairman and CEO James Quincey during the Q2 earnings call.
While Coca-Cola does not disclose country-specific volume numbers, India was named among the markets alongside Mexico and Thailand that dragged down global unit case volumes by 1%. Nevertheless, the company remains bullish on India’s long-term trajectory.
As per the media reports, Coca-Cola is recalibrating its go-to-market approach. Its marketing engine is being fine-tuned to Indian palates with activations like Thums Up with biryani, Sprite with spicy meals and Maaza with festivals, a sign of the company’s shift toward culturally rooted consumption moments.
Further, Coca-Cola is ramping up its digitization strategy, recently surpassing 1 million customer outlets on its digital ordering platforms.
The company is also undergoing a major operational restructuring. The Jubilant Bhartia Group, which runs India’s largest food services business, acquired a 40% stake in Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages (HCCB) late last year. This re-franchising of Coca-Cola’s bottling operations in South and West India, covering 236 districts across 12 states, marks a pivotal shift.
“In the case of India, it is never going to be a straight line... but we have a lot of marketing campaigns focused on India,” Quincey noted, underscoring confidence in the long-term growth narrative.
