Coca Cola's bottling arm takes over Georgia biz in India

In a business realignment, Coca-Cola Co's bottling arm in India, Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverage will take over operations of Georgia tea and coffee business in the country.

Announcing a transition of Georgia tea and coffee business from Coca-Cola India, Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverage (HCCB) said it will handle the manufacturing and distribution of Georgia across India effective October.

Georgia is the tea and coffee offering from the Coca-Cola Company, while HCCB is the company-owned bottling operations.

"With this move, HCCB will expand its existing product portfolio and now offer both hot and cold products to end consumers," the company said in a statement.

HCCB Chief Executive Officer and Regional Director - Bottling Investment Group T Krishna Kumar said: "This move has been brought forward on account of our strong belief in the products being offered by Georgia and the need to expand the business exponentially in the years to come."

At Hindustan Coca-Cola, the collective objective is to expand Georgia's reach by aggressively leveraging on the company's strong distribution network, he added.

"We are excited about the potential of this product offering and are confident that it will further accelerate the company's growth in the years ahead," he said.

Under the new arrangement, HCCB Vice President - Commercial Beverages S Giri Sunder will lead the Georgia business.

He will seek to leverage HCCB's core competency of sales and distribution reach to increase the market-share of Georgia in the country, the statement said.

With the transition of Georgia to HCCB, the company has now evolved to be a 'one stop beverage solutions provider' offering the entire flavor range in sparkling, juice, tea, coffee and still categories to end consumers, it added.

Currently, the Georgia pre-mix is being manufactured at the Hershey India in Bhopal, which is the co-packer facility of HCCB.

Georgia offers a range of premium hot and cold beverages - including fresh brew coffee, hot premix flavoured tea, coffee, iced tea and cold coffee through its owned vending machines.

The brand is more than a decade old in India with close to 5,000 machines deployed around the country. It has partners, including McDonald's, besides cinema halls and multiplexes as well as key corporate offices.