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Beverage company Coca-Cola plans to ramp up sourcing Indian fruits for its juices and aerated drinks product portfolio. The company is also looking at expanding its “juice with fizz” portfolio.
As part of its “juice with fizz” portfolio, Coca-Cola India is learnt to have recently piloted Fanta Fruity Orange in Gujarat. This contains about 5.3 per cent of orange juice, sources said. This product is being tested, after the company first launched its fizzy juice product Fanta Green Mango with about 10.4 per cent of mango juice, last year.
Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had urged soft drink companies to mix natural fruit juice in their carbonated beverages to help boost farmers’ income.
The strategy to focus more on incorporating Indian fruits in its product portfolio, comes at a time when soft drink companies are facing challenging times in India. Urban households are increasingly switching to healthier drinks and regional players are gaining ground, posing tough competition. The soft drink companies are also bracing for GST which will put them at a higher tax slab. In line with its strategy regarding local fruits, the company has also for the first time created a new position to spearhead its “circular economy initiative”.
It has appointed Asim Parekh as the Vice-President — Fruit Circular Economy, for its India and South West Asia business unit.
“The Circular Economy initiative is to create virtuous economic cycle to have a transformative impact on Indian agriculture especially horticulture,,” the company said in a statement on Thursday.
The company said it is one of the largest institutional buyers of agricultural produce in India, with 95 per cent of its ingredients sourced locally and exports to the Coca-Cola operations pegged at over ₹1,700 crore.
“We will be making interventions across the value chain starting from the farm-gate,” the company added. The company however, did not comment on BusinessLine ’s queries on Fanta Fruity Orange.
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