Hindustan Coca-Cola takes over Georgia Tea & Coffee business in India

Georgia is the tea and coffee brand from Coca-Cola Company

In a bid to improve distribution and marketing of products under its brand Georgia, Coca-Cola has transferred the rights to its bottling arm in India - Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages (HCCB). While the trademark rights still belong to the Coca-Cola India, which used to distribute beverages like Georgia tea and coffee in the country, the move is expected to increase penetration of the brand.

Coca-Cola India holds the trademark of all major Coca-Cola brands and is assigned with the promotion and R&D activities in the country. While HCCB is the global beverages major's Indian subsidiary under Bottling Investment Group (BIG) - a global bottling and distribution company owned by Coca-Cola Inc. According to experts, the transfer of distribution rights will help the company expand the reach of Georgia products in India as HCCB has the expertise in such operations, unlike Coca-Cola India. Although, Coca-Cola has been able to deploy some 5,000 Georgia vending machines in the past decade, makers of Nescafe products Nestle India remains the market leader in the segment, they pointed out. "S Giri Sunder, Vice President - Commercial Beverages, HCCB, who will be leading Georgia business in India, will leverage HCCB's core competency of sales and distribution reach to increase the market-share of Georgia in the country", the company said in a statement.

"This move has been brought forward on account of our strong belief in the products being offered by Georgia and the need to expand the business exponentially in the years to come. We are hopeful this aromatic and smooth tasting coffee will appeal to Indian consumers. At Hindustan Coca-Cola, our collective objective is to expand Georgia's reach by aggressively leveraging our strong distribution network. We are excited about the potential of this product offering and are confident that it will further accelerate the company's growth in the years ahead," T Krishna Kumar, Chief Executive Officer, Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages and Regional Director, BIG said.

Georgia currently offers a range of premium hot & cold beverages - including fresh brew coffee, hot premix flavored tea, coffee, iced tea and cold coffee through its owned vending machines. Fast food giant McDonalds is currently the largest customer for Georgia machines in India. "With the transition of Georgia to HCCB, the company has now evolved to be a 'one stop beverage solutions provider' offering the entire flavor range to end consumers," the company declared through a statement.