Beverage major Coca-Cola on Monday said it witnessed strong growth in India in the first quarter of 2021, driven by its sparkling drinks portfolio and fruit-drink brand Maaza.

In its global earnings statement, it said, “Strong growth in developing and emerging markets, led by China and India, was offset by pressure in developed markets, primarily the US and Western Europe.”

It added that sparkling soft drinks witnessed a growth of 4 per cent which was due to “solid growth” in China, India and Latin America.

“Nutrition, juice, dairy and plant-based beverages grew 3 per cent due to solid performance by Minute Maid Pulpy in China and Maaza in India,” the company said.

Talking about performance of its business in the Asia-Pacific region, the beverage major said, “Unit case volume grew by 9 per cent due to strong growth in China and India partially offset by coronavirus-related pressure in Japan and South-East Asia.”

Unit case volume growth is defined as the number of unit case of beverages sold directly or indirectly by the company and its bottling partners.

Talking about the performance of company-owned bottling operations, it added that unit case volume grew 5 per cent, primarily due to solid growth in sparkling soft drinks in India and South Africa.

“Through the first quarter, volume trends steadily improved each month, driven by recovery in markets where coronavirus-related uncertainty has abated. The path to recovery, however, remains asynchronous around the world,” Coca-Cola added in its statement.

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