Search the Internet          Tips  Sites: Finance, Investment

More Sunfill flavours, expansion on Coke menu

Jyotika J Thukral

Coca-Cola India, the local arm of the Atlanta-based beverage major, is planning to bring in more flavours of its recently launched powdered soft drink, Sunfill, during the current financial year, while it expands the market reach of the existing orange drink.

Coca-Cola is already expanding its manufacturing capacity for the powdered drink, which is available worldwide in ready-to-drink form but is being sold in India as a pre-mix. A company source said four plants have been added since November 2001 for this purpose.

A company spokesperson although declined to give details about Sunfill variants. But he pointed out that the current thrust would be to increase the penetration of the existing product.

While internationally the product is available in ready-to-drink form, the company feels that in India the product is aimed at the Sec C & D consumers primarily, launching such variants would only add to the cost.

Sunfill will be rolled out nationally by this month-end. Coca-Cola claims that Sunfill has already managed to capture 20 per cent marketshare in Andhra Pradesh since its launch around three months ago.

Coca-Cola is also planning to support the national launch with an advertising campaign which breaks on national television channels on Friday. The 40-second commercial has the tagline Taste Sunfill ka, pyaar apka and has been created by advertising agency McCann Erickson.

According to the company, the commercial which shows a party scene in a family puts across the message that Sunfill not only offers an economic value-added proposition for our consumers, but also an enjoyable and trouble-free beverage preparation alternative to mothers.

Coca-Cola has set up a hybrid distribution channel for selling Sunfill, and has tied up with several leading distributors of fast moving consumer goods.

The new product distribution structure will cover both the traditional soft-drinks outlets such as restaurants, paan shops, and grocery stores.

"The new grocery store channel will compliment our own distribution network that covers over 1,20,000 outlets in the northern region. This will help increase the penetration of the product. This is for the first time that such a channel is being adopted," a senior executive of the company said.

Coca-Cola India's latest entry in the fast growing powdered soft-drink concentrate market is in keeping with the company's plan to look at other beverage categories in a growth strategy against the current slow growth being witnesses by the carbonated beverage industry.

Powered by

ALSO READ:
The Rediff Budget Special
The Rediff-Business Standard Special
Money

Tell us what you think of this report