The Hindu Business Line : Coke plans a big Maaza push

Chennai April 2 Maaza, the mango drink launched over 30 years ago, has unveiled a new integrated marketing campaign. Featuring actor Satish Shah in a TV commercial, the campaign revives the well-known tagline `Taaza Mango, Maaza Mango'. On-ground initiatives, including road shows and contests, will be part of the campaign.

Mr Venkatesh Kini, Vice-President (Marketing), Coca-Cola India, told Business Line that the campaign is designed to convey the quality of mangoes used to make the drink.

He claimed that the drink had a leadership position in the Rs 1,200-crore organised market for juices. Maaza was included in the Coca-Cola portfolio in 1993.

Minute Maid, Coca-Cola's recent launch in India, has sold one million units in the first month, Mr Kini said. The pulpy orange drink has been launched only in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Considering that sampling has only just begun, the figure indicates that repeat purchases are taking place, he said.

The company saw a good product and proposition in pulpy orange, said Mr Kini. Internationally, it's a different formula. The pulpy orange variant was developed for the China market, and now comes to India.

Minute Maid is a 62-year-old brand and entered the Coca-Cola fold in 1960.

There are over a 100 products in the Minute Maid banner that include fruit drinks in various flavours and fortified varieties. Coca-Cola is exploring the options to introduce some of these here later even as tweaking them to local tastes and conditions has begun, says Mr Kini.

Minute Maid is being bottled at Coca-Cola's bottling unit in Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh. The juice is imported from Brazil and the orange pulp from Florida.

However, the pricing has been fixed on the basis of what the consumer can pay and not on what it costs the company, Mr Kini said. In the long run, Coke will source these components locally, working with farmers, as it does for Maaza, he added.

The juice market is underdeveloped but has a lot of potential. Research shows that it's estimated at 500 million cases, and packaged drinks account for only 10 per cent. The rest include homemade juice and out-of-home consumption at hotels, juice stalls and the like, Mr Kini said. A case is equivalent to 5.6 litres, and that works out to 2.5-3 billion litres in India.

Over 50 per cent of what people drink in India after tap water is tea and coffee.

However, with rising incomes, people are seeking variety and convenience and slowly switching to juices and fruit-based drinks, milk-based drinks and sparkling drinks (including carbonated soft drinks), Mr Kini said.

Minute Maid will be launched in the rest of the country in phases. A campaign featuring VJ Nikhil Chinnappa is on air.

It is available in a 400-ml bottle for Rs 25 and a one-litre bottle for Rs 60. The company may launch smaller packs later, Mr Kini said.