Timing the launch with the Make in India summit, Coca-Cola India has created an India-specific green mango flavour under its carbonated Fanta brand. With retail sales at ₹1,000 crore, Fanta’s new variant will have 10 per cent fruit juice which will be locally sourced and pitted against existing brands such as Parle Agro’s Appy Fizz.
With more flavours like litchi and strawberry in the pipeline, the MNC expects to enhance its domestic sourcing from Indian farmers and fruit pulp manufacturing companies like Jain Irrigation and Foods & Inns.
Venkatesh Kini, President, said: “We annually buy ₹4,000 crore as output from farmers for fruit pulp. The new variant of green mango will only add to it as we are already helping about four lakh farmers. This is the first time that we have launched a juice variant for Fanta with a relevant Indian formulation as India is still a growth market for us.’’
Fanta Green Mango will also be sold through hyper local delivery start-up – Grofers, as a pilot before being sold through other e-commerce sites.
Debabrata Mukherjee, Vice President Marketing & Commercial, Coca Cola, added: “We will be trying out multiple formats and variants under Fanta and it will be all about local sourcing and make in India.’’
Coca-Cola locally sources almost 95 per cent of the ingredients used for making its several beverages which include Sprite, Minute Maid, Thums Up and Limca.
It has recently suspended production at some of its bottling plants due to lack of demand during the off season period but expects to make up for it soon by adding three new greenfield manufacturing plants.