The nine-year long wait for ‘zero sugar’ aerated drink for Indian consumers is finally over. The beverage giant Coca Cola on Friday launched ‘Coke Zero’ in India, adding another product in their portfolio mix.
In India, Coke Zero could give a fillip to the nascent carbonated diet drinks market, which is miniscule. “We are on course to invest $5 billion by 2020 thereby providing beverage choices to consumers that complement their lifestyles and hydration needs,” said Venkatesh Kini, president - Coca Cola India.
The ‘zero-sugar’ drink will be available in 300 ml slim cans and as well as 400 ml and 600 ml in plastic pet bottles. It is expected to be priced on a par with regular Coca-Cola, for instance, in Delhi - the price of the 300 ml can will be Rs 30, while that of 600 ml pet bottle will be Rs 35.
Speaking on the launch, Kini:”A global Indian is exposed to many products and consumers are increasingly demanding for choice. Coke Zero is well placed in our portfolio to cater to the new age consumer’s requirements.”
To grace the occasion, the first sip of Coke Zero was enjoyed by some of the celebrities like Farhan Akhtar, Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Atul Kasbekar and Shiva Keshavan.
When asked about the Varanasi bottling plant, Kini said: “We remain committed towards the State. We have 11 plants in Uttar Pradesh and we are working with the UP Government to locate a new location for the bottling unit”.
The company is innovating with new channels of distribution for sale and promotion of the product, partnering with Subway, Reliance Retail and Inox. It has also partnered with Amazon India for online sales and marketing. Manpreet Gulri, country head, Subway and Alok Tandon, chief executive officer, INOX leisure also grace the occasion by their presence.
Debabrata Mukherjee, vice-president marketing, Coca-Cola India, said “Coke Zero is part of our global Red-Silver-Black model on Coca Cola trademark. Its strength lies in its great taste and sharp brand positioning.” The company will be sampling more than 1.5 million consumers in the next four months.
According to the management, Coke Zero has been positioned as an alternative for young adult males who have always perceived Diet Coke as a women’s drink to stay fit. In terms of formulation, Coke Zero tastes more like the regular Coke than Diet Coke. In contrast, Diet Coke has its independent flavour profile that is different from the regular Coke. However, both use the same sweetener, which is a blend of aspartame and acesulfame-K. The Coke Zero brand is now available in all the top six markets of the company product portfolio, the others being USA, Mexico, China, Brazil and Japan.