The Hindu Business Line : For Coke, flavoured milk is the new real thing

The added fizz to Coca-Cola India is poised to flow from its foray into the dairy sector, even as the company is going in for a major portfolio expansion in the country. The global beverage giant is evaluating the possibility of adding flavoured milk and milk shakes as possible dairy-based products to its Indian portfolio.

“Coca-Cola India will definitely be introducing dairy-based products in the near future. Evaluation of various possible products are being carried out currently, and it is only a matter of time, maybe three years, when the company might formally announce its dairy based product portfolio,” said a source close to the development. “The company is also involved in dairy-based activities in some countries,” added the source.

Global Portfolio

“We are evaluating several categories and have planned a three-pronged approach to enhance and strengthen our portfolio. This will include variant additions to our existing line, brands from our global portfolio and foraying into categories where the company is not yet present in the rest of the world,” said Mr Venkatesh Kini, Vice-President, Coca-Cola India.

“We want to identify ourselves as a total beverage brand which offers anything that is non alcoholic and ready to drink,” added Mr Atul Joshi, President and CEO, Coca-Cola India.

Meanwhile, Coke’s largest bottler in India, Mr Jaspal Singh Khandari, has already set up a modern 1,000-animal dairy farm near Chandigarh, equipped with mechanised milking machines and on-farm chilling facilities to produce milk with low microbial content and pesticide/antibiotic residues.

This farm, employing foreign trained veterinary consultants, is seen to act as a ‘demonstration’ for similar ventures. Mr Khandari, however, denied that the initiative had any link to the Coca-Cola company or for supplying it in the future.

The company on Friday announced its plans of repositioning the brand while unveiling a new umbrella campaign developed by McCann Erickson.

“Our five-pillar strategy for the company focuses on portfolio, people, planet, partners and performance. Each of these is a drop of a larger vision aimed at mutual growth,” said Mr Joshi.

“The integrated communication platform of the new campaign with tagline ‘Little Drops of Joy’ is a tribute to the valuable inputs of the company’s stakeholders, depicting what the company stands for,” he added.

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