Brands
Coca-Cola brings American sports drink to India’s scorching summer market
MUMBAI: Coca-Cola India is set to introduce American sports drink BodyArmorLyte to the subcontinent this summer, as the beverage giant scrambles to capitalise on what executives have joyfully described as “early arrivals” of heatwave conditions.
Coca-Cola India & southwest Asia vice-president Sundeep Bajoria announced the expansion with palpable enthusiasm for the premature scorching temperatures that have already begun tormenting the nation’s 1.4 billion residents.
BodyArmorLyte, a coconut water-based hydration drink popular in the US, will join other newcomers including Honest Tea – an organic offering sourced from Assam – and Vitaminwater, which has thus far been confined to testing in airport terminals where dehydrated travellers are presumably less price-sensitive.
The company expects its established brands ThumsUp and Sprite to each reach the $2 billion sales mark in India, though Bajoria tactfully avoided committing to any timeline for this achievement, to Economic Times.
When questioned about competition from Reliance Industries’ resurrected Campa Cola brand, Bajoria echoed his global president’s diplomatic stance: “We welcome competition,” he said, presumably while clutching a stress ball under the table.
Coca-Cola appears undeterred by inflation concerns, with Bajoria explaining they would capture “a significant part of that inflation through price package mix and architecture” – corporate speak for “we’ll make the bottles slightly smaller rather than raising prices directly.”
The company is counting on recent tax relief for the middle class to drive consumption.
Ola has a new voice. The ride-hailing giant has appointed Shirsha Majumder as senior manager for PR and communications, bringing in a seasoned hand to sharpen its brand narrative and media relations.
Majumder arrives from Acko, where she spent close to four years playing a central role in shaping the insurance company’s communications strategy. Before Acko, she built her credentials across a string of well-regarded organisations including HDFC Life, Adfactors PR and Edelman, accumulating over nine years of experience across reputation management, media relations, strategic messaging and stakeholder engagement.
At Ola, she is expected to bring that breadth of experience to bear on the company’s communications function at a time when the brand is navigating an increasingly competitive and scrutinised market.
For a company that has rarely been far from the headlines, getting the communications right matters. In Majumder, Ola has picked someone who knows how to manage a narrative under pressure.
