Cold Drinks Market in India

Posted By Team MCG On

 

India, which is renowned for its consumption of traditional hot beverages such as tea and coffee, has now taken to cold drinks in a big way. Demand for cold drinks is witnessing growth at a fast pace especially among younger section of the population.

Though India is a tropical country with long summers, consumption of carbonated beverages stands at roughly 5-6 bottles per year compared to around 21 bottles in Sri Lanka and as high as 605 bottles in Mexico. Low advertisement reach and lack of cold storage facilities are hampering the demand for select segments of cold drinks in rural markets. Players are trying to penetrate rural markets by offering low priced unit sized packaging formats. The organized carbonated drinks market has a large share of multi-national players. There are also several small and regional players who cater to local market with cola and non-cola drinks.

Overall cold drinks market was valued at INR 193 billion in 2013-14, of which carbonated soft drinks accounts for a major share of around 62%. Fruit-based drinks is largely an urban phenomenon, especially the fruit juice category.

Packaging is a vital aspect in the beverage market- apart from branding and promotion, the package also assumes importance from storage, transportation and environment perspectives. Carbonated soft drinks are mainly sold in returnable glass bottles (RGB), aluminium cans, and PET bottles. Fruit juice and fruit nectar categories are mainly sold in liquid packaging cartons

Coca Cola India and PepsiCo India together account for around 85% of the overall carbonated beverage market in India, of which Coca Cola accounts for over 55%followed by PepsiCo with a market share of around 35%. Coca Cola’s ‘Maaza’ leads the market in the fruit drink category followed by Parle Agro’s ‘Frooti’

Coca Cola India and PepsiCo India:Key brands

cold drinks - table

Both Coca-Cola and PepsiCo have planned for significant investment in the region. Coca-Cola reiterated its plans, first announced in 2012, to invest USD 5 billion into its regional operations before 2020.

PepsiCo also committed USD 5 billion into the company’s Indian business by the end of 2020; of this amount, INR 1.2 billion has been allocated to set up its second beverage manufacturing plant at Sri City in Andhra Pradesh