Coca-Cola on Tuesday said that Maaza has become a billion dollar brand in 2024. This makes it the third brand in the beverage company’s India portfolio after Thums Up and Sprite to achieve this milestone. The company, which released its 2024 global earnings, also said that India has a strong runway for growth.
In line with its global refranchising strategy, the beverage major in December announced a key agreement to divest a stake in its bottling operations in the country. Under this agreement, Jubilant Bhartia Group, will acquire 40 per cent stake in Hindustan Coca-Cola Holdings, parent of its company-owned bottling arm, Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages.
Speaking on the earnings call, James Quincey, Chairman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company said, “In India, our business rebounded nicely during the quarter (December quarter), and we grew volume. We recruited consumers with innovative marketing campaigns…… And Maaza is now our 30th billion dollar brand.” The company also said that it has strengthened its distribution with the addition of 440,000 new outlets during 2024.
While Thums Up had become a billion dollar brand in India in terms of annual sales in 2021, Sprite became a billion dollar brand in 2022.
Refranchising development
On the recent bottling refranchising development in India, John Murphy, President and chief financial officer, The Coca-Cola Company said, “ We look for a certain profile of partner…those who are ambitious as we are to capture the opportunity, who have the capital and the ability to build capability over time. We believe that our new partner ticks the box very handsomely on all of these attributes.” He added that the Indian market has got a “tremendous amount of runway ahead” . “The environment there is pretty vibrant, with a tremendous competitive set, and we believe that the Jubilant Group is going to add tremendously to our abilities to continue to step change our execution in the marketplace,” he stated in the earnings call.
Meanwhile, in its earnings statement, the beverage major said that, “ during the three months and year ended December 31, 2024, the company recorded net gains of $13 million and $303 million, respectively, related to the refranchising of our bottling operations in certain territories in India, including the impact of post-closing adjustments. “ This relates to the company’s decision announced in early 2024 to divest bottling operations in Rajasthan, Bihar, North-East and parts of West Bengal to its independent bottlers.
