Coca-Cola India will launch by April its Minute Maid Perfect Fruit, a range of frozen Indian fruits such as mango. The company is working with its Australian bottler to bring the product to India for a pilot in Bengaluru.
T Krishnakumar, President, Coca-Cola India and Southwest Asia, told BusinessLine that mango and litchi are being tested in the pilot and it is evaluating one more flavour for the launch. There are plans to export to other countries as well. The products will eventually be made in India for domestic consumption, he added.
Perfect Fruit, which is just mashed fruits without the addition of yoghurt or any other dairy item, as those available in the market today, will be another portfolio of Coca-Cola’s based on locally-sourced fruits. This is part of the company’s efffort to make products that have ethnic relevance and also a connect with every part of the country.
For instance, the company recently launched Fanta Portello, a grape-flavoured drink, exclusively for Tamil Nadu. “We will soon be launching Neelam (a mango beverage) in April,” Krishnakumar said. The labels for these products will be in the local language; Portello’s label is in Tamil for the Tamil Nadu market.
What the company is attempting to do is create a region-wise portfolio of flavours that the people will be able to connect to.
“We are formulating products based on ingredients that are available locally. If we keep developing such products, the relevance and connect will be more robust,” Krishnakumar added. There are also plans for expanding fruit-based aerated drinks to pineapple or litchi.
Other segments
The company is also focussing on other beverage segments like value-added dairy products. Coca-Cola India tested its dairy product Vio and tea, Fuze, a couple of years ago.
Now, coffee is in the pipeline as well. The products are in the incubation stage and will be rolled out nationally in 12-24 months.