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Tag: Sprite

  • Partners with top comedians like Kapil Sharma and digital stars

    Sprite returns with ‘Joke in a Bottle’ campaign

    Sprite, the refreshing, lime-flavoured soft drink from the Coca-Cola Company, is back with ‘Joke in a Bottle’, following the success of its inaugural season. Strengthening its renowned ‘Scan Karo, Joke Suno, Thand Rakho! campaign from last year, the brand is set to become the ultimate heat hack for this season, delivering a fresh wave of comedic content. With a simple scan of a bottle, youngsters can unravel jokes across 9+ regional languages across their most relatable topics such as exams, college, relationships, food and much more.

    To spearhead the campaign, they’ve collaborated with three pairs tied by their love for comedy. For the nationwide commercial we will see Kapil Sharma, together with Suryakumar Yadav who is known for his quick-wit in the Indian cricket Team. Following this, the Bengali commercial will feature superstar Dev Adhikari and Comedian Niranjan Mondal, and the Oriya commercial will feature actor Sabyasachi Mishra and comedian Biswa Kalyan Rath.

    Commenting on the new campaign, Tish Condeno, Senior category director, sparkling flavours, Coca Cola India and South-West Asia, said: “We are thrilled to bring back Sprite’s Joke in a Bottle campaign, following the outstanding response from last year. Our goal remains unchanged: to infuse our consumers’ lives with happiness, delivering genuine and relatable content that resonates with our brand ethos. Sprite is dedicated to offering an unmatched, delightful experience, and we are eagerly looking forward to spreading joy and laughter with everyone!”

    Ritu Sharda, Chief Creative Office, Ogilvy India (North): “Sprite Joke in A Bottle, now running in its second year, not only has regional jokes, but the campaign is regional too. Real comedians have joined forces with popular personalities to keep the heat down and laughter up. The campaign features stars like Kapil Sharma and SKY for the north market, Dev and Niranjan for the Bengali market and Sabyasachi and Biswa for Oriya. The campaign will surely tickle you in the language you love and strengthen the brand’s promise of ‘Thand Rakh’.

  • During ICC Men's Cricket World Cup

    Sprite unveils brand films

    By Our Staff

     

    Sprite, the lemon and lime-flavoured beverage from the Coca-Cola Company, has unveiled a series of brand films with the ‘Thand Rakh’ theme.

     

    Said Tish Condeno, Senior Category Director, Sparkling Flavors (India and Southwest Asia) Coca-Cola India: “The new ‘Thand Rakh’ campaign revolves around embracing the unforgettable intensity that defines sports. Sprite, truly takes ownership of these heated moments, offering a refreshing solution during ICC Men’s Cricket World cup. We are thrilled to provide a cool respite for those impulsive, high-pressure moments that define the essence of the tournament.”

     

    Added Sukesh Nayak, Chief Creative Officer, Ogilvy India: “Sprite is established itself as the go-to brand when life throws situations at you that end up causing heat. The cricket world cup is one such situation. The campaign shows cricket through the lens of life in an interesting way that ends in a comedy of errors. It’s quick, snackable content that drives home the point of when heat strikes, Sprite comes to the rescue.”

     

    Said Ritu Sharda, Chief Creative Officer, Ogilvy India (North): “The cricket World Cup is the biggest clash of the best teams from around the world. Obviously there will be intense moments and things will heat up. The films show how heated moments from a match get transferred to real life. We took words from the world of cricket and gave it a spin with real life situations where the meaning of the word is completely different. Resulting in heat. Making it the perfect ground for Sprite to come in as the official cooler of heat and to tell people to enjoy the World Cup in full, minus the heat.”

     

    In addition to the commercials, we also watched multiple sponsored posts by standup comic ‘AiyyoShraddha’, and also noted usage of ‘Thand Rakh’ in some tweets/social media posts.

     

  • To re-instate it as the go-to refresher drink while binging on OTT content

    Sprite partners OTTs in new campaign

    By Our Staff

     

    Sprite, the lemon and lime-flavoured beverage by Coca-Cola, has unveiled a new campaign to re-instate its positioning as the go-to refresher drink. The new campaign aims to connect with consumers by leveraging their passion point of watching OTT content – making Sprite their choice of beverage.

     

    Sprite has partnered with Amazon Prime Video and Voot for the campaign. In addition to this, the film features popular OTT and film stars Ali Fazal, Shweta Tripathi, and Divyendu Sharma. The advert contrasts the humorously exaggerated response of such over-heated characters with the calm, cooled-down mind after having a chilled Sprite.

     

    Commenting on the new campaign, Tish Condeno, Senior Director, Sparkling Flavours Category, Coca-Cola INSWA, said: “For over 20 years, Sprite has not only established itself as the undisputed youth brand, but has also been leading authentic, edgy, and urban conversations via its marketing efforts. Banking on the success of Sprite’s summer campaign “Thand Rakh”, our new film takes a quirky approach to showcase how a bottle of chilled Sprite is the perfect partner for all your unwinding occasions and weekends. The campaign portrays light-hearted banter to reiterate the brand’s core message of being the go-to refresher drink which instantly lightens one’s mood. We are thrilled to partner with some of India’s biggest OTT platforms and stars, who are sure to help us further enhance our consumer touchpoints and audience engagements.”

     

    Added Ritu Sharda, Chief Creative Officer, Ogilvy India (North): “Sprite is known to be the choice of refreshment that cools you when you lose your cool. Now with Friday Release, a new property that lets you win OTT subscriptions through Sprite bottles, we wanted to get India’s hottest heads to take the idea of Thand Rakh forward. The film pushes the ritual of watching content accompanied with a Sprite and what happens when someone comes in the way of you and your content. Rest assured, Sprite shows how to enjoy your content and stay chill no matter how heated the situation. Enjoy it with a chilled Sprite in your hand. And if something comes in the way, thand rakh!!”

     

  • The ads have been executed by Ogilvy

    Sprite campaign asks audiences to ‘chill’

     

     

    Coca-Cola India has unveiled a new campaign ‘Thand Rakh’ for its lemon and lime-flavored beverage – Sprite.

     

    Commenting on the new campaign, Tish Condeno, Senior Director, Sparkling Flavours Category, Coca-Cola INSWA, said: “Sprite has always been known for refreshing consumer’s mind and body. Now that summer is here, we want to offer a cold Sprite to chill everyone down from the intense summer heat and the everyday heated moments of stress and pressure. ‘Thand Rakh’ urges our audience to grab India’s ultimate refreshing beverage ‘Sprite’ and stay calm as they battle the summer heat and the numerous challenges of the ‘new normal’. Our brands have always sought to add value across various consumption occasions and this summer, Sprite is ready to keep India chill and cool!”

     

    Added Sukesh Nayak, Chief Creative Officer, Ogilvy India: “Sprite has always been the refreshment of choice for the smart ones. And the smart ones definitely know that when stuck in a heated situation, it’s best to just ‘Thand Rakh’ and get things done, your way without losing your cool. The new positioning, inspired by our lingo, will truly connect and help keep things cool in an overheated world.”

     

     

  • It features Taapsee Pannu and Ayushmann Khurrana

    Sprite’s takes virtual route to shoot films in new normal

    By A Correspondent

     

    Coca-Cola India has launched a new brand campaign for its sparkling beverage – Sprite. The campaign features actors Taapsee Pannu and Ayushmann Khurrana in four films – each depicting the funny and annoying sides of the relaxing-at-home experience.

     

    Commenting on the new campaign, Shrenik Dasani, Vice President – Sparkling Category, Coca-Cola India and South West Asia, said: “The launch of this new campaign, underscores our consumer centric approach. Our brands have always sought to add value to various consumption occasions and given the evolving reality, we are now ready to connect with our consumers in new situations and bring forth some more relatable moments in the ‘new normal’ of their lives. As Sprite is known to do, we wanted to offer a tongue-in-cheek, bold and contemporary take on life at home with your favourite screen.”

     

     

  • The campaign in a light-hearted manner reiterates the brand’s core message of being the best refresher in summer

    Sprite campaign encourages youth to act against social stereotypes

    By A Correspondent

     

    Coca-Cola India has unveiled a new campaign ‘Garmi mein doubt hatao, Sprite uthao’ for its beverage, Sprite.

     

    Commenting on the new campaign, Shrenik Dasani, Vice President – Sparkling Category, Coca-Cola India and South West Asia, said: “Sprite has been known to be the best refresher in the Indian summer. With the launch of the new campaign ‘Garmi mein Doubt Hatao, Sprite Uthao’, we are excited to bring consumers our take on how to navigate a world filled with judgements & stereotype. The world is a tough place for today’s youth with people having different points of view on how they should act and behave. The campaign humorously reminds us that while life tries to confuse you, it is important to focus only on what really matters to you”

     

    Added Amarinder Bhutalia, Managing Partner, Ogilvy: “For the youth today, the world is more confusing with far more opinions than ever before.  With this campaign, our attempt is to remind them that everyday dilemmas shouldn’t distract them from keeping their eye on the ball. And this summer, they should focus on beating the heat with Sprite, the ultimate refresher.

     

     

  • As part of this campaign, Sprite is launching six TVCs which have been created on the core message of refreshment

    Sprite shows Indians how to beat the heat with six ad films

    By A Correspondent

     

    Coca-Cola India announced the launch of a new campaign ‘Refreshment Full. Garmi Gul’ for Sprite.

     

    As part of this campaign, Sprite is launching six TVCs which have been created on the core message of refreshment. Commenting on the launch of the new campaign, Abhijit Datta, Director Flavours, Coca-Cola India said: “The idea around this campaign was to communicate Sprite’s promise of being the ultimate refreshment, and doing it in a way that underscores our authenticity and attitude. We wanted to reorient our storytelling style – creatively magnifying the difficult job Sprite has to Refresh us all in the scorching heat of the summer, which is a monumental task!”

     

    Commenting on the idea behind the TVC Ajay Gahlaut, Executive Creative Director, Ogilvy & Mather, Delhi said: “For this summer campaign, we decided to focus on the core refreshment benefit of Sprite. The challenge was to communicate this simple benefit in an engaging and interesting manner and in the typical witty Sprite tone. After many iterations we decided on comparing the uselessness of various strange objects to the usefulness of a bottle of Sprite when it came to refreshing people in the hot Indian summer. The choice of the strange objects was not arbitrary. We chose those that made us giggle the most.”

     

     

  • NBA India's Akash Jain says this is the largest fan programme they have hosted in India and the wide range of basketball and lifestyle elements will provide memorable experiences

    NBA 3X bounces ahead in September

    By A Correspondent

     

    The National Basketball Association (NBA) has announced that it will launch the first-ever NBA 3X presented by Sprite in India, in September.  The free interactive event will combine basketball and entertainment to bring an unprecedented NBA experience to fans in four cities from September 15 to October 21.  The event will visit Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Mumbai and this will mark the NBA’s first event in Hyderabad.

     

    NBA 3X presented by Sprite will feature the largest 3-on-3 basketball tournament ever staged in India with 400 teams expected to participate; performances from top musical artists or well-known DJ each day; and a variety of on and off the court activities for fans.

     

    The 3-on-3 tournament will have two age divisions: 16-18 and 18-23.  The winners in each city will be flown to Mumbai to compete in a National Championship on Oct. 21. The National Champions in each division will qualify to participate in a 2013 FIBA/NBA Asia 3-on-3 basketball tournament.

     

    Seven-time NBA Champion Robert Horry and the Golden State Warriors dance team, the Warrior Girls, will be in Delhi to tip off the event on Sept. 15-16.  Horry played 16 seasons in the NBA for four teams.  His seven championships are the most of any player not to have played on the 1960’s Boston Celtics.  Horry will also attend the Mahindra NBA Challenge Finals in Bangalore and conduct an NBA Cares event in Delhi with Love in Action — a Delhi-based NGO which uses the sport of basketball to provide life-skills education to children from slums.

     

    The musical artists and DJ’s performing include hip hop and Bollywood artist Hard Kaur; leading electronic and dance music duo VJ Nikhil Chinapa and DJ Pearl; award-winning singer Anushka Manchanda, past winner of Channel V’s music talent hunt search Pop Stars; along with two of India’s top DJs – Clement and Ajit (Goa).

     

    NBA 3X presented by Sprite will bring authentic NBA-style entertainment to fans in India.  Fans will participate in a variety of free contests and activities with the chance to win NBA merchandise.  They can participate in basketball clinics, play NBA video games, measure themselves against cut-outs of NBA players, and interact with Horry and the Warrior Girls.  For a full event schedule or to register for the 3on3 tournament, fans can visit NBA.com.

     

    NBA 3X presented by Sprite is being supported by adidas, HP, Spalding and the Basketball Federation of India (BFI).  Sprite will send two participants from the national champion team in the 18-23 division to NBA All-Star 2013.  These two participants may get a chance to be part of the global pool of players from which NBA All-Stars Kobe Bryant and LeBron James will select to be part of the Sprite Team Sudden and Team Intense competition during NBA-All Star 2013. In addition, the first Sprite Basket Blast 2012 will take place in select cinemas across select cities in India from September through October.

     

    HP will create an interactive technology experience for fans visiting NBA 3X presented by Sprite.  Fans can utilize HP products to access NBA.com, NBA social media, basketball training videos and create their very own NBA Avatar.  Spalding will provide all basketball equipment.

     

    “We are extremely pleased to announce brand Sprite’s association with the NBA 3X initiative. Sprite is an exciting and vibrant brand that has always maintained a meaningful connection with its consumers through engaging initiatives,” said Wasim Basir, Director, Integrated Marketing Communications, Coca-Cola India. “We look forward to working together with the NBA to develop more innovative basketball experiences that will resonate well with our consumers in India and give them the opportunity to be closely involved with the sport. We hope that NBA 3X presented by Sprite becomes a great success and is well appreciated by our consumers.”

     

    “NBA 3X presented by Sprite will combine NBA-style entertainment, 3-on-3 basketball, and music to engage youth and build our fan base in India,” said NBA India Senior Director of Development Akash Jain.  “This is the largest fan programme we have ever hosted in India and the wide range of basketball and lifestyle elements will provide memorable experiences for our fans.”

     

    Here is the schedule for NBA 3X presented by Sprite:

    CITY DATE LOCATION MUSICAL PERFORMANCES
    Delhi Sept.15-16 Great India Place Mall Sept. 15: Hard KaurSept. 16: Nikhil Chinapa and DJ Pearl
    Hyderabad Sept. 22-23 MJ College Sept. 22: Anushka ManchandaSept. 23:  Nikhil Chinapa and DJ Pearl
    Chennai Oct. 13-14 Besant Nagar Beach Oct. 13: Anushka ManchandaOct. 14: Nikhil Chinapa and DJ Pearl
    Mumbai Oct. 20-21 Inorbit Mall Oct. 20: DJ Clement and DJ AjitOct. 21: Anushka Manchanda

     

    About the NBA

    The NBA is a global sports and media business that features three professional sports leagues: the National Basketball Association, the Women’s National Basketball Association, and the NBA Development League. The league has established a major international presence, with offices in 15 markets worldwide, games and programming in 215 countries and territories in 47 languages, and NBA merchandise for sale in more than 125,000 stores in 100 countries on six continents. Current NBA rosters feature 78 international players from 39 countries and territories. The NBA’s digital assets include NBA TV, which is available in nearly 60 million U.S. homes, and NBA.com, which averages more than 42 million page views per day, more than half of which originate from outside of North America. The NBA is the No. 1 professional sports league on social media, with more than 300 million fans and followers globally across all league, team, and player platforms. Through NBA Cares, the league and its teams and players have donated more than $200 million to charity, completed more than 1.9 million hours of hands-on community service, and created more than 720 places where kids and families can live, learn, or play.

     

    # # #

     

    For further information, please contact:

    Aaron Gomes – aaron.gomes@adfactorspr.com

    9819496494

     

    Rohan Alvares – rohan.alvares@adfactorspr.com

    9820564549

  • The global chairman and CEO of beverage maker Coca-Cola announced investment of $3 billion (approx Rs17,000 crore) over an eight-year period

    It’s wrong for us to say that India is slowing down: Muhtar Kent, Coca-Cola

    Muhtar Kent

    By A Correspondent

     

    Unfazed by the economic slowdown and talks of policy paralysis, Muhtar Kent, global chairman and CEO of beverage maker Coca-Cola, on Tuesday announced a fresh investment of $3 billion (approx Rs17,000 crore) over an  eight-year period for expanding its bottling, cooling, and distribution operations as well as accelerating its pace of growth in India.

     

    “Whether or not the government makes policy changes, we continue to announce investments in India,” Mr Kent said, adding that the company’s focus would be on ‘continuing to be flexible, and work with more speed than ever before’.

     

    “Yes, there are some issues in the world economy. But it’s wrong for us to say that India, or China, or Brazil or any emerging market is slowing down. As you go up, the oxygen gets thinner. What’s being created today at 6-7 per cent GDP is incrementally much higher than it was some years back… what’s more important is sustainable growth and not growth that can’t be controlled, ” he added.

     

    The $3-billion investment is over and above the $2 billion, the maker of Thums Up cola and Kinley water had announced last November. The company has invested $2billion in India since 1993, when it-entered the country.

     

    Mr Kent said he expects India to be among its top 5 markets soon’, up from its current No 7 ranking. “This is a realistic goal. India’s demographic, economic and social trends are all huge drivers of growth. Six years ago, we were not strong here, not at all… but India has been a remarkable turnaround story,” he said.

     

    The CEO, who got a pay package of $21.2 million last year, up 10 per cent from the previous year, flew down in his private jet with close family and friends on what is his first India visit as Chairman on Monday night. During his three-day India stay, he is visiting the Taj Mahal in Agra, making a flying visit to Amritsar to meet a handful of key bottlers and attending a Coke Studio concert in Delhi. Thrown in between is a town hall meeting with Coca-Cola employees, a few market visits and a visit to the beverage giant’s headquarters in Gurgaon. Unlike rival PepsiCo’s Chennai-born global CEO and Chairman Indra Nooyi who’s a frequent visitor to India – a key growth bastion for both cola majors – Turkish American Kent had not visited India since he took over the corner office at Coca-Cola’s headquarters in Atlanta in 2008.

     

    Coca-Cola’s portfolio in India includes aerated drinks Coke, Thums Up, Fanta, Sprite and Limca, Kinley water and Minute Maid juices. Even after two decades of being here, the beverage maker’s top-selling drink here remains Thums Up, which it acquired from Ramesh Chauhan-owned Parle Bisleri.

     

    But Mr Kent said the choice depended on ‘the consumer’. “We remain “constructively discontent and we believe we are just getting started. We need to make sure we provide choices to consumers… responsible choices. And help create solutions for over-nutrition and under-nutrition,” he said.

     

    Like most food and beverage firms worldwide, Coca-Cola too is trying to transform itself as a ‘health and nutrition-focused company’. But over three-fourths of Coca-Cola’s revenues continue to come from sugary aerated drinks . “We let the consumer decide what he wants…. and we label our products responsibly.” said Mr Kent.

     

    Like its American rival PepsiCo, Coca-Cola too, has been depending on India for driving double digit growth. For fiscal 2011, for example, Coca-Cola said its global volume grew 5 per cent, aided by key emerging markets such as Latin America, India and China. A consistent growth performer, Coke’s India business has been growing for the last 23 quarters, of which 17 were in double digits.

     

    Source: The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2012, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

     

  • Coca-Cola surprised pundits when it dropped the price for the 200 ml returnable glass bottle by Rs2 to Rs8

    Will Coke’s 200ml pack price cut cannibalise Thums Up?

    By Preethi Chamikutty

     

    Summer is still a few weeks away, but cola brands have already started feeling the heat. While most brands are closely guarding their marketing secrets for the season, Coca-Cola surprised pundits when it dropped the price for the 200 ml returnable glass bottle (RGB) by Rs2 to Rs8.

     

    That may not seem unusual – after all in the past, Coke has cut price. However, most of those reductions were across all brands in the portfolio, from flagship Thums Up and Sprite to Limca and Fanta. This time, however, the exercise applies only to Coca-Cola.

     

    Independent marketers are not convinced about the strategy as they feel that in the urge to close in on arch-rival Pepsi, Coke runs the risk of cannibalising Thums Up, its top cola brand and the country’s largest selling carbonated drink.

     

    So why is one of the world’s most valuable brands discounting itself in India? The official response from Coca-Cola is that the “special promotional price” will “fuel growth of the cola category. As the 200 ml pack is the entry point into the category, it will recruit new consumers into the cola segment since it is a very attractive price point,” said a company spokesperson.

     

    The promotional offer is being rolled out in phases across select markets; 70 per cent of markets will have the Rs8 price. Those familiar with the promotion say that this is a pilot project for three months, with an option to extend it.

     

    Clearly, Coke has trained its sights on Pepsi – which has yet to react to the price cut – and hopes to inch closer to it. Still, market observers wonder whether the drop in price is aimed at Pepsi or at Coke’s own brand, Thums Up, which is the leader in the cola category as well as in carbonated drinks.

     

    Latest market share figures are unavailable – both cola majors will not part with them – but those familiar with recent numbers point out that Thums Up has a share of roughly 42 per cent of the Rs4,000 crore pure cola market. Pepsi follows with 36 per cent, and Coca follows with a share of just under a fifth (a few regional brands account for the rest).

     

    An official at a beverage marketer says that Thums Up also leads the approximately Rs10,000 crore carbonated soft drinks market with a 15 per cent share. If marketers do not approve of Coke’s move, it’s with good reason. “Unless this is a global diktat, this strategy is flawed from Thums Up’s point of view,” reckoned Nobby Gupta, founder & CEO, Nobby Brand Architects.

     

    “In countries wherever Coke is present, it always has to be the market leader and all other brands have to follow; if that is the aim for India as well then this strategy falls in place,” he added. But he also goes on to say that this strategy will have a negative impact on the combined share of both Coke and Thums Up.

     

    Me Gupta’s logic is simple: Lowering the price of Coke will not put pressure on just Pepsi, it will also cannibalise the market share of Thums Up. “And if Pepsi drops price too, which is likely, there is a chance of it eating into both Coke and Thums Up,” added Mr Gupta.

     

    Then there are those who feel that dropping prices for short-term gain is dangerous. “Because when you go back to old prices consumers may well say: ‘Thank you very much for the discount, now I will go back to Thums Up,” said Anand Halve, co-founder of Chlorophyll Brand & Communications Consultancy. “Momentary bribing does not ensure long-term consumer loyalty,” he added.

     

    For a generation of Indians, Thums Up, with its relatively stronger taste, is synonymous with cola. “The preference for a strong cola continued even as new cola brands entered and are now expanding the category. Over all these years, Thums Up’s communication has remained consistent,” said Devendra Chawla, president, food & FMCG, Future Group, who is a former Coke associate.

     

    To be sure Thums Up has assumed almost cult brand status over the past two decades with commercials like ‘Taste The Thunder’ and ‘Toofani Thanda’ that had an international look and feel to them. Ashok Kurien, advertising guru and former chairman Publicis India, who was involved in the launch of Thums Up said: “Thums Up managed to crack the soul of Indian consumers through advertising and reached out at a deeper level. It was about struggles in life, the anxiety and determination to survive and succeed. This was probably the strongest concept in Indian advertising that connected to the young Indian male. And it still connects today.” When Coca-Cola acquired Thums Up, Kurien advised the Atlanta-headquartered company to only pit Coke against Pepsi and not touch Thums Up – as it already had an 85 per cent market share. “But Coke introduced both Coca-Cola and Thums Up in 300 ml bottle and people lapped up Thums Up, with Pepsi taking the second spot.”

     

    The battle between Coke and Pepsi continues, although Coke officials deny the attempt to spark off a cola war; they just want to step up per capita consumption by Indians, they say. “Indians consume only 12 200 ml bottles of beverages per year compared to 675 bottles by Mexicans – the highest consumers of Coca-Cola globally,” pointed out a Coke official.

     

    Source: The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2012, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

     

  • A Coca-Cola spokesman confirmed the company is introducing Citra in "a few towns in Maharashtra and Gujarat" on a pilot basis

    Eye on volumes, Coca-Cola to revive Citra after 19 years

    By Ratna Bhushan

     

    Coca-Cola will revive Citra, a clear-lime drink it bought from Ramesh Chauhan two decades ago but junked in favour of Sprite, in a move that analysts believe is more to target price-sensitive consumer segments than to unlock the brand’s heritage value.

     

    A person familiar with the top beverages maker’s plans said Citra will be priced about 20 per cent cheaper than existing lime-lemon drinks such as its own brands Sprite and Limca as well as PepsiCo’s Mountain Dew and 7 Up, to target a wider audience and take on smaller brands.

     

    A Coca-Cola spokesman confirmed the company is introducing Citra in “a few towns in Maharashtra and Gujarat” on a pilot basis. This will be followed by a staggered launch across other metros and bigger cities.

     

    The move has surprised industry watchers because Coca-Cola’s Sprite, the second-largest soft drink brand in the country after Thums Up, leads the lime-lemon drinks segment, which is the fastest-growing soft drink category in India’s Rs13,000-crore fizzy drinks market.

     

    Among those surprised is Ramesh Chauhan, who created brand Citra and made it popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

     

    “After keeping the brand in cold storage for so many years, it’s strange they want to re-introduce it now, especially when they have a strong presence in the clear-lime segment,” Chauhan said. “If they are looking for retention and heritage value, then logically even Gold Spot should be revived.”

     

    When Coca-Cola re-entered India in 1993, it bought out all Parle brands except Bisleri from Chauhan.

     

    Move aimed at mopping up volumes

    While Citra and Gold Spot were phased out to make way for Coca-Cola’s global brands Sprite and Fanta, respectively, Thums Up, Limca and Maaza were retained. Shashi Kalathil, CEO of management advisory firm Y-factor and partner at private equity fund Exponentia Capital, said the move may be aimed at mopping up volumes. “Coca-Cola probably doesn’t want Citra’s pricing to impact its larger brands. So this could be more of a pricing game and about treating Citra more as a trademark than a brand,” he said.

     

    Parle brand again

    It’s history that the US major sidelined Parle’s cola brand Thums Up to promote its own brand Coca-Cola for years before waking up to the potential of the Indian brand and backing it.

     

    Now it seems like deja vu for Coca-Cola as it is banking on a Parle brand once again to push market share in the lime segment. The Coca-Cola spokesman said Citra would not cannibalise its existing lemon drinks because there is ample room for multiple brands in a developing segment like sparkling fizzy drink in a high-potential market such as India.

     

    Devendra Chawla, president of food & FMCG segments at the country’s largest retailer Future Group, said the move will aid the growth of the clear-lime category, which is already seeing heightened brand activity. “To grow carbonated soft drinks’ per capita in India, apart from growing colas, it’s critical to activate flavours which have natural acceptance from Indian consumers such as lime and mango,” said Chawla, who formerly worked with Coca-Cola.

     

    India’s per capita consumption of carbonated drinks is just 11 litres a year compared to 34 litres in China and 675 litres in Mexico.

     

    The lime-lemon category in India has been growing 16-17 per cent a year, ahead of colas at about 11-12 per cent and orange drinks at 8-9 per cent. Apart from being a familiar flavour that Indians consume at home (in the form of nimbu paani), lime-lemon drinks are considered ideal thirst quenchers.

     

    Both Coca-Cola and PepsiCo have been promoting their brands aggressively in this segment. PepsiCo has Bollywood star Salman Khan endorsing Mountain Dew and actor Sharman Joshi for 7 Up, while Coca-Cola pushes clear-lime drink Sprite and cloudy lemon drink Limca on the irreverent and freshness platforms, respectively.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2012, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved