Coca-Cola To Invest $ 120 Mil In India

Brushing aside the pesticide controversy, Coca-Cola has said it is investing $ 120 million (Rs 560 crore) more during the year in its Indian company Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages (HCCB) to grow the per capita consumption of its beverages.

The new investment in HCCB is expected to increase the urban and rural penetration of its brands and diversify its range of beverages.  Coca-Cola during the last 13 years invested over $ 1 billion in its Indian operations. The company has 60 per cent share in the Indian carbonated soft drink industry whose current size is 500 million cases (each case consisting of 24 bottles).

Coke would also expand its vended tea and coffee business, Georgia. Its `Georgia Gold' hot vending machines will be expanded further through a concept called `Georgia Junctions'. About 100 Georgia junctions will be rolled out within this calendar year in Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata and Hyderabad.