India is playing host to the annual business meet of Coca-Cola this week. This comes at a time when the beverage major is ramping up investments in the country, which is its fifth largest market globally.
Coca-Cola Company’s Chairman and Global CEO James Quincey, along with the key leadership team, will lead the meet in Goa.
Sources said the company hosts its annual meet across various markets. Key company leaders from not just the US but also other markets across the globe will travel to India this year, to brainstorm on future strategies. The company’s third-party bottlers and the leadership team of Hindustan Coca-Cola Pvt Ltd will also attend.
Coca-Cola’s global leadership team had, during an investor meet last week, pointed out that the billion-dollar brand Thums Up is the largest soft drink brand in India and its mango drink Maaza is also driving its value-added dairy segment.
Earlier this month, in an earnings call, John Murphy, President and Chief Financial Officer, Coca-Cola Company, said: “A significant portion of our expected capital investment increase is to build capacity for fairlife and for our India business, both of which experienced robust growth in 2023.”
In January, the company’s bottling arm, Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages, divested its bottling operation in Rajasthan, Bihar, North-East and parts of West Bengal to its existing independent bottlers.
Coca-Cola currently has 11 bottling partners in India, including company-owned HCCB.
HCCB has also announced ₹3,000 crore investment in Gujarat to set up a new plant as part of its long-term strategy to ramp up capacity in India.