Summer adds fizz to soft drink sales

Blame it on the soaring temperatures or the changing lifestyles of Andhraites, but summer does mean 'hot' business for soft drink manufacturers selling their products in the state.

For, according to Coca-Cola India, Andhra Pradesh contributes to almost half of the soft drink giant's total sales in the south!

With summer setting in, the soft drink industry can look at garnering more than 50 per cent of its annual revenues in the four months from March to June.

It, therefore, goes without saying that the soft drink manufacturers would leave no stone unturned in their efforts to woo the citizens of the state.

Says Vijay Bhaskar Reddy, general manager (corporate affairs-south), Coca-Cola India, "Not only does Andhra Pradesh rank first among all the southern states in the country in terms of soft drink sales for us, it also contributes to a neat 15 per cent of our turnover on a nationwide basis."

"Among all our brands, Thums Up and Sprite sell the most in Andhra Pradesh. In fact, we also see a shift in tastes from cola drinks to clear lime-flavoured ones like Sprite and Limca in summer. So, it is a strategic decision on our part to focus on the brands that are strong in this state," he adds.

Coca-Cola India also owns brands like Maaza, Sunfill, Georgia, Georgia Gold, Kinley and Fanta.

"We have, therefore, come out with a special campaign with Tollywood star Chiranjeevi for our 'Thums Up Everest Challenge'. This is the case only with Andhra Pradesh. In the rest of the states, it is Bollywood star Akshay Kumar who is promoting this campaign," Reddy explains.

More than four lakh consumers across 325 towns and cities in the country have participated in the challenge. In Vizag alone, according to Reddy, around 7,000 youngsters have competed with each other to win the contest.

However, Coca-Cola India is not focussing much on promoting its flagship brand in the state as, according to Reddy, it is not a very strong brand in Andhra Pradesh.

The company has, therefore, just launched a nationwide campaign with Aishwarya Rai and Aamir Khan as its brand ambassadors and not state-specific ones.

Though its competitor Pepsi has roped in model Yana Gupta for 7-Up, it's banking on its brand ambassador Shah Rukh Khan for its flagship brand. In fact, it has also come out with a music video starring film icons Amitabh Bachchan and Priety Zinta besides a range of cricket stars to garner a greater mindshare among the cricket and movie buffs.

Incidentally, both Coca-Cola and Pepsi have launched schemes giving the consumers a chance to either win cash prizes or even tour abroad. But do such promotions really convince the Andhraites to guzzle down more bottles of soft drinks?

Says Anjaneyulu Kakkera, managing director of retail chain Trinethra Super Market, "Irrespective of whether there is any scheme or not, summer is definitely the peak time for soft drink brands. Nonetheless, I will not deny that such promotions do add to the sales, although in a minor way."

He, however, adds that in recent times there has been a shift in tastes from carbonated drinks to fruit-based ones. "Maybe it is the health factor that is bringing about the change," Kakkera says.