BANGALORE - Coca-Cola Co. said Monday it will invest $2 billion in India over five years, as the soda giant and its bottling partners plan to spend $30 billion to build capacities and on marketing in emerging economies.
The Atlanta-based maker of Sprite and Thums Up soft drinks, Minute Maid juice and Kinley packaged drinking water, as well as rival PepsiCo Inc. have been targeting growing demand for convenience foods and drinks in emerging markets as North American soda sales have been tepid in recent years.
India offers robust growth prospects for food and beverages makers as its growing economy--estimated to grow 7.6% this fiscal year through March 2012--is leaving more disposable income with an expanding middle class. The country is also seeing its middle class increasingly adapting to Western tastes and spending more on beverages and processed foods.
Despite global uncertainties, India has been attracting long-term investments. Data show foreign direct investments in India in the January-August period surged 50% from a year earlier to nearly $21 billion.
In a statement, Coca-Cola said its investment is aimed at capturing more of the opportunity in the Indian non-alcoholic ready-to-drink beverage market, which it said has enormous growth potential.
The company and its bottling partners plan to invest in marketing and brand building, distribution expansion and capacity addition in India, it said.
"India is one of our most important growth markets," Ahmet C. Bozer, Coca-Cola's president for Eurasia and Africa group, said in the statement.
PepsiCo said late last year that it aimed to triple revenue from India every five years and would invest in installing new capacity and new plants over the next few years.
Coca-Cola, the world's largest non-alcoholic beverage company, has invested more than $2 billion in India since it re-entered the country in 1993. It had been banned here for 16 years until 1993, for refusing to divulge its secret recipe.
Coca-Cola employs more than 25,000 people in India, nearly 4% of its employees worldwide.
The investment is aimed at capturing more of the opportunity in the Indian non-alcoholic ready-to-drink beverage market, which has enormous growth potential, the U.S. company said in a statement.
The company and its bottling partners plan to invest in marketing and brand building, expand distribution and increase manufacturing capacity, it said.
wsj.com
The Atlanta-based maker of Sprite and Thums Up soft drinks, Minute Maid juice and Kinley packaged drinking water, as well as rival PepsiCo Inc. have been targeting growing demand for convenience foods and drinks in emerging markets as North American soda sales have been tepid in recent years.
India offers robust growth prospects for food and beverages makers as its growing economy--estimated to grow 7.6% this fiscal year through March 2012--is leaving more disposable income with an expanding middle class. The country is also seeing its middle class increasingly adapting to Western tastes and spending more on beverages and processed foods.
Despite global uncertainties, India has been attracting long-term investments. Data show foreign direct investments in India in the January-August period surged 50% from a year earlier to nearly $21 billion.
In a statement, Coca-Cola said its investment is aimed at capturing more of the opportunity in the Indian non-alcoholic ready-to-drink beverage market, which it said has enormous growth potential.
The company and its bottling partners plan to invest in marketing and brand building, distribution expansion and capacity addition in India, it said.
"India is one of our most important growth markets," Ahmet C. Bozer, Coca-Cola's president for Eurasia and Africa group, said in the statement.
PepsiCo said late last year that it aimed to triple revenue from India every five years and would invest in installing new capacity and new plants over the next few years.
Coca-Cola, the world's largest non-alcoholic beverage company, has invested more than $2 billion in India since it re-entered the country in 1993. It had been banned here for 16 years until 1993, for refusing to divulge its secret recipe.
Coca-Cola employs more than 25,000 people in India, nearly 4% of its employees worldwide.
The investment is aimed at capturing more of the opportunity in the Indian non-alcoholic ready-to-drink beverage market, which has enormous growth potential, the U.S. company said in a statement.
The company and its bottling partners plan to invest in marketing and brand building, expand distribution and increase manufacturing capacity, it said.
wsj.com
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