Coca-Cola makes record investments in India in H2 2023

Bengaluru: As the festive season coincides with the Cricket World Cup in India this year, beverage major Coca-Cola has made record high investments in India in the second half of calendar year 2023, company vice president for marketing (India and South-West Asia) Arnab Roy said during a virtual media round table on Friday.

“This is…one of the largest investments we’ve ever done in Q3 and Q4 combined in the history of our company in India,” he said, adding that in absolute terms, the money that the brand is pumping in is the highest ever. 

Furthermore, the company’s ad spends in the December quarter as a percentage of overall spending are 5-7 per cent higher, compared to a year ago.

Coca Cola is the exclusive non-alcoholic beverage partner of the ICC for the Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023.

FILE PHOTO: Coca-Cola bottles

While Thums Up has taken the lead in the company’s partnership with ICC, brand Coca-Cola is heading the work around the festivals. The company is also engaging in brand activation with festivals in neighbouring Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

Coca-Cola, which had a “challenging summer” owing to unseasonal rains, remains bullish on long-term metrics. “Therefore, it was very important for us to continue investing in the business, in our brands, so that we don’t lose the momentum,” Roy said, adding that the company works on long term planning cycles.

The demand continues to be strong, across urban and rural India, Roy further confirmed. “We don’t see consumer demand for most of our top brands slowing down at all,” he said. The brand remains optimistic about festive spending, across categories.

Speaking on business during the Cricket World Cup, he said: “We’re very hopeful with the initial numbers that we’re seeing post our investments have gone in, and the expectation is that this will also spur some very good short term demand.”

Elaborating on Coca-Cola’s strategy to battle inflationary pressures, Roy highlighted a two pronged strategy - ramping up supply chain efficiencies and hiking prices in some of the larger packs where the price elasticity is in the company’s favour.