Coca-Cola plans rural focus for expansion

Coca-Cola India is set for major expansion in the rural markets. The company has made investments in tune to over Rs 750 crore in the last two years for its bottling plants, contract manufacturers and distributors to increase its presence in the rural pockets.

The company has launched its carbonated soft-drinks in 200 ml for Rs five to push it volumes in the rural masses.

"We are in stage of enhancing our presence in the rural pockets since presently over 60 per cent of our growth comes from the rural pockets. After the launch of the 200 ml bottles for Rs five, we have enhanced our customer base from 16 crore to over 25 crore. Our focus is to make our drinks available in the even in the remote villages across the country," said Amit Oberoi, vice president, regional operations, Coca-Cola India.

The company has identified rural markets for volume growth in India. The cola giant is slowly adopting a localised marketing strategy with local brand ambassadors and localised marketing campaigns to penetrate to the rural masses.

The company is targetting to enhance its India's consumer base to 30 crore by the end of the current financial year.

"Presently over 30 per cent of our sales come from the rural markets and over 60 per cent of our growth is from the rural markets so we have decided to focus on the rural markets to give a significant boost to the entire sales," said Oberoi.

The company is roping in regional stars as local brand ambassadors for the company for promoting its products in the rural pockets.

Recently, the company has roped in Chiranjeevi and Simran as local brand ambassadors for the company in the South. The company's first regional television commercial in India will was aired on May, in West Bengal for pushing the company's highest selling brand, Thums Up, accounting for over 33 per cent of the entire sales.

"We are also connecting with local festivals and culture to reach out to the semi-urban and rural consumers. The consumer acceptability differs from area to area and it is in the domain of product acceptability that the company will now focus on," said Oberoi.

After summers, the company is eyeing on the regional festivals like Navratri in the West and Durga Puja in the east to push its regional sales. The company is also plans to introduce various promotional offers for its retailers and consumers during the festive season to push its rural sales.