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Beverage major, Coca-Cola, on Friday said that volume growth in the Asia-Pacific region was driven by markets, including India, during the September quarter.
The company said this was supported by factors such as wider distribution and higher offtake of immediate consumption packs in the country.
Talking about performance of the company in the Asia-Pacific region, Coca-Cola said, “Unit case volume grew 4 per cent, due to broad-based growth across the majority of key markets, partially offset by a decline in Japan. Volume growth was lead by Southeast Asia, China and India.”
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. The company did not give India specific volume growth numbers.
On an earnings call, James Quincey, Chairman and CEO of Coca-Cola Company, said that in India, immediate consumption transactions have grown double-digits year-to-date, fueled by adding more than 650,000 new customer outlets during the year and placing more than 25,000 additional coolers in the market.
Immediate consumption packs are typically medium sized and small sized packs that are targeted at on-the-go consumption occasion. .
Smartwater
Meanwhile, the company also said that India has now emerged as the fourth largest market globally for its premium water brand “smartwater”. The company had launched the brand in 2018 and said it is now the second-largest premium water brand in India.
“In the explorer and challenger phase, the company leveraged local celebrity endorsements and digital marketing to drive brand edge while expanding distribution in select channels as a premium offering,” it added.
In May, Coca-Cola India had roped in actors Rana Daggubati and Radhika Apte as brand ambassadors and associated with the brand for a range of consumer activations, digital and social media engagements
The beverage major’s comments come at a time when the FMCG industry is facing a consumption slowdown. On Thursday, market research and insights firm Nielsen said that the rural household consumption for packaged consumer goods hit a seven year low.
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