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company had returned to India after a gap of 16 years, many local brands had
emerged till then. It acquired ownership in the Parle Group which gave the
company instant ownership to the popular brands likes Thumps Up, Goldspot,
Limca and Mazza. The deal not only gave manufacturing, bottling, and
distribution assets to Coke but also a strong consumer preference. Jayadev Raja
was made the first Chief Executing Officer of Coca Cola India. Access to 53 of
Parles plants and a well set bottling network, gave Coca Cola Company an
excellent base for rapid introduction of the companys international brands.
9. PEPSI AND COKE-PESTICIDE CONTROVERSY-2003 - 2006 The 2 international
brands Pepsi and Coca Cola faced a new challenge when the local governments
placed a ban on their products following a report by an environmental group
claiming the sodas contained high levels of pesticide. On August 5, 2003, The
Centre for Science and the Environment (CSE) issued a news release which
stated that The soft drinks brands sold contain a deadly cocktail of pesticides
residue. The CSE, a New Delhi based research and advocacy group that aims for
sustainable growth, based its accusations on tests conducted by the Pollution
Monitoring Laboratory in April, 2003. During the tests, pesticide residue was 24
times above limits set by the Bureau of Indian Standards in 57 samples tested. In
one bottle of Coca-Cola bought in Calcutta, the level of the carcinogenic
pesticide Lindane exceeded the bureaus standards by 140 times. The pesticides
Lindane, DDT, Malathion and chlorpyrifos are responsible for cancer, damage to
the nervous system and reproductive system, birth defects, and severe
disruption of immune system. Coca Cola India president and CEO Sanjiv Gupta
argued against the allegations of CSE and questioned their testing method. This
dispute had stoked a fresh media maelstrom and had fanned protests across
several regions.
10. The state of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, had banned the sale of the soft
drinks in schools and government offices. Similar bans were announced by state
governments in the northern states of Rajasthan and Punjab a week before
Lawmakers from the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party called for a nationwide
ban. Protesters in Mumbai and Kolkata defaced Pepsi and Coke ads and burned
placards depicting soda bottles. Public had gone furious and protest for Coke and
Pepsi to leave India had begun. Soon, sales dropped by 30 40%. Both Coke and
Pepsi published newspaper advertisements to spread message that pesticide
levels in their products are below permissible levels and less than those detected
in other foods, such as tea, fruits and dairy products.
11. RESULT Repeated tests were conducted and on August 21, 2003, the then
Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Sushma Swaraj announced that the
samples did not contain unsafe levels of pesticides. The Joint Parliamentary
Committee (JPC) investigating pesticide contamination in soft drinks and
beverages tabled its final report in Parliament in 2004, corroborating the findings
of the Centre for Science & Environment (CSE) that leading Coca-Cola and Pepsi
brands contained hazardous pesticides. The efforts of the Government of India
have led to the establishment of stricter norms that are on par with the best in
the world. 2 years later, Coca Cola hiked prices in India by 10-15 percent. The
reason given was price increases to cover rising raw material and distribution
costs and the lingering effects of the pesticide allegations which drove decline in
sales.
12. LEADING BRAND IN INDIAN SOFT DRINKS MARKET GOLD SPOT: This orange
colored carbonated soft drink was introduced in the early 1950s, and acquired by
the Coca-Cola company in 1993. Its tangy taste has been popular with Indian
teenagers. LIMCA: This thirst-quenching beverage features a fresh and light
lemon-lime taste. The Limca brand was introduced in 1971 and acquired by the
Coca-Cola company in 1993. MAAZA: Maaza, launched in 1984 and acquired by
the coca-cola company in 1993, is a non carbonated mango soft drink with a rich,
juice & natural mango taste. THUMPS UP: In 1993, the Coca-Cola company
acquired this brand, which was originally introduced in 1977. Its strong and fizzy
taste makes it unique carbonated Indian cola. As of February 2012, Thums Up is
the leader in the cola segment in India, commanding approximately 42% market
share and an overall 15% market share in the Indian aerated waters market.
APPY FIZZ It is a product by Parle Agro, introduced in India in 2005. Appy Fizz
consists of carbonated apple juice, and is used as the basis for cocktails and is a
popular drink. After the success of Appy which was clean apple juice, Parle
launched its sequel product as Grappo Fizz, which is a carbonated grape juice.
RASNA - Rasna is a soft drink concentrate brand owned by Pioma Industries
which is based in Ahmedabad, India. It was launched in mid-seventies but started
gaining popularity in the eighties when the market was dominated by carbonated
soft drinks like Thums up, Gold Spot and Limca. As of 2009, Rasna had a 93%
market share in the soft drink concentrate market in India.
13. According to 2012 reports, Sprite has a market share of 14 per cent while
Thums Up has a 15 per cent share. Following the two Coca Cola brands, Sprite
and Thums Up, is Pepsi, which has a 11.2 per cent market share. Sprite is also
the largest selling sparkling (carbonated) soft drink brand in China as well,
according to news reports. Brand Coke itself follows Pepsi with a 7.5 per cent
share. Several other brands such as Fanta and Mirinda with a similar share of the
market as Coke jostle for the fourth place in terms of share. Sprite, launched its
new summer campaign with a tagline of chalo apni chaal in summer 2012. It
continued with its campaign which targets the Indian youth.
14. CONCLUSION There are still a lot of issues that Coke and Pepsi need to
resolve when it comes to their image abroad and in India. They both still
represent the west, but they need to become better adapted to the different
environments they decide to become part of. They need to not just be able to
market their product efficiently; they need to show some responsibility when
things start to go sour for them. The Indian people continue to steadily buy and
consume soft drinks. However, Indians in general are consuming a wider variety
of beverages and Coke and Pepsi should be willing to expand the options. They
already have some fruit sodas, and some bottled water markets, but potential for
introducing fruit cocktails and other beverages do exist in the market. Coke and
Pepsi still continue to align themselves with brands, celebrities, sports, and
lifestyles that the Indians find appealing. Both the companies need to
continuously check on their products to make sure they are safe, and continue to
be environmentally and morally sound with their plants, operations, distribution,
and products in general.