Coca-Cola, the soda and juice manufacturer is working on a determined plan meant for the Indian market. It is planning to enter the pure diary segment that will make it compete with Nestle, Britannia and Amul. The manufacturer of Minute Maid juice and Thums Up cola will introduce Coca Cola Vio, a milk based beverage brand in India. This brand will be free from carbonation. An official with knowledge about the development stated that this Vio brand will be a completely India innovation.
As per another official, the launch of this brand could happen in January next year or by the next quarter. The back end and front end are getting fine tuned. Coca-Cola has roped in Schreiber Dynamix Dairies, the dairy giant for its milk based drink, claimed one of the officials. The company is planning to launch bottled Vio in the locally relevant flavors initially.
A Coca-Cola spokesperson stated that they are already providing Maaza Milky Delite in the dairy space, but the brand has its presence only in select markets. The milk based beverage Vio is a global brand and it is available to India as well. There is no clear information on when this product will be launched in the country.
Coca-Cola seems to have moved towards the diary market as the sales of fizzy drinks have been struggling with a just a single digit growth in the past five quarters. The aerated drinks category has a value of Rs 14,000 crore and it is driven by the seasonality and it remains as an indulgence consumption. The packaged dairy category is valued at Rs 75,000 crore and it is growing consistently by 15 percent. The packaged milk contributes to Rs 50,000 crore.
Vio was introduced by Coca-Cola in 2009 as a carbonated dairy drink with skimmed milk and it was launched in peach, berry and citrus flavors. It was positioned as a free from preservatives drink that is fortified with vitamin C.
