Coke plans flavoured drinking water

Coca-Cola is also now working out a new model for strengthening its rural infrastructure to enter into the country's huge rural market seriously.

Sanjiv Gupta, president and chief executive officer of Coca-Cola India, who was in Ahmedabad on Monday, told Business Standard, "Two to three years down the line, we are going to add value to our Kinley brand packaged drinking water and we will sell flavoured drinking water in the Indian market.

As we do not feel that India will be a potential market for carbonised packaged drinking water like the European countries, we will rather go with the flavoured water which will also help us to expand the market." Coca-Cola may go for launching packaged drinking water in different flavours such as lemon, peach etc.

"We were very much scared three years back when we launched Kinley as we knew about the presence of big players such as Bisleri in this market segment but now in the third year, we are happy that we have started making money from Kinley. Now in the next three years, our target will be value-addition for the Kinley range and we will start launching new products within two to three years from now," said Gupta.

In the present estimated Rs 1,200 crore packaged drinking water market in India, Kinley, according to Gupta, holds a stake of 37 per cent, while Bisleri, the majority stake holder of this market till three years back, is now happy with a 33 per cent market share.

"This market has a lot of potential and we feel that packaged water in India is more treated like a life-giver to many people. We are now also into the bulk packaged water business under the same brand and the market is going to expand very fast for all the players," he said. Coca-Cola is also going to unveil new advertisement campaign of Kinley in the country which will, however, retain the old catch line.

While talking about the rural market of India and penetration of the Coca-Cola brands, Gupta said, "We are trying to work out a special marketing strategy to reach the huge rural market and it may be very much on the FMCG line. In fact, we are trying to minimise the capital expenditure on us and may opt for finding out people who will share the capital expenditure for setting up rural infrastructure."

It may be added here that the range of television commercials with the catchline, 'Thanda Matlab Coca Cola,' is now being taken to the rural Chinese market and also in countries such as Thailand and Indonesia.

"The appeal of this range of our TV commercial is being taken to these countries' rural market and we are only changing the ambience and circumference, adding touch of that particular country's society but the catchline that cold means Coke will remain," Gupta added.