Coca-Cola, the US based beverage maker is buoyed by the success of Coke Zero, its sugar-free fizzy drink. It is also planning to test the Sprite Zero in the market, which is a zero-calorie option of the largest selling lemon drink in the world. Sprite is the bigpegest soft drink brand in India in terms of volume sales. It occupied this position by surpassing Thums Up last year. Thums Up is also a brand of Coca-Cola.
While the launch of the Sprite Zero is imminent in India, a spokesperson of Coca-Cola stated that they are evaluating several beverage options that meet the consumer needs. As of now, the company will not reveal anything related to the specific beverage or its launch plans, stated the spokesperson.
The diet soft-drinks market segment in India has been a niche category. It is predicted to be valued around Rs 300 crore that is tripled from the size of Rs 120 crore in the year 2010. On the other hand, the domestic soft drinks market segment is valued at Rs 14,000 crore. The launch of Coke Zero in the last year has boosted the category that has witnessed a growth of around 39 percent.
As per Debabrata Mukherjee, the Marketing and Commercial VP at Coca-Cola India, the research firm, Coke Zero has progressed into a Rs 40 crore brand in just ten months of its launch. The diet market segment in India has proved to be quite tricky to crack for most firms. PepsiCo came up with Aliva, a baked snack option, but it was pulled off the shelves due to a lack of interest among the consumers.
Similar to Coca-Cola Zero, Sprite Zero also has sweeteners such as Aspartame and Acesulfame. Now, Coca-Cola sells a couple of diet beverages in the country and these are Diet Coke and Coke Zero.
