Coca-Cola to sell Georgia beyond McDonald's and Subway

Will now compete with Nestle, which sells Nestea in powdered and premix forms

Once partners globally, they are now rivals in the Indian ready-to-drink cold premix tea and coffee market. While Coca-Cola has already started selling such products, launched in Delhi, Gurgaon and Kolkata in the first phase, Nestle, too, has products in these segments. Till 2011, Coca-Cola marketed Nestea in India and other markets through its joint venture with Nestle, which ended in 2011.

Coca-Cola, which brought Georgia tea and coffee to India in 2002, has so far restricted the brand to institutional sales, primarily restaurants and offices. Now, the company is stepping beyond key retail chains. A senior Coca-Cola India executive says the company has already completed the pilot run. "We have already started selling ready-mix cold coffee and tea powders here," he adds.

The Georgia brand will essentially compete against Nestle, which sells Nestea in powdered and premix forms as a cold beverage, as well as the premix Nescafe.

A LOT HAPPENING OVER COFFEE

• There are about 1,800 coffee outlets across the top 60 cities in India, according to a study
• Coca-Cola brought Georgia tea and coffee to India in 2002, but restricted it to food chains
• The company will now step beyond food chains and venture into ready-to-drink cold premix tea and coffee
• The product has been launched in the first phase in the markets of Delhi, Gurgaon and Kolkata

Coca-Cola has launched the Georgia iced tea premix at Rs 50/250g pack, while a 250g pack of cold coffee premix is priced at Rs 120. These products will be rolled out across the country through the next few months. The company might also consider introducing small, economy packs in the future.

In India, the company sells the Georgia brand of tea and coffee through retail chains such as McDonald's and Subway, as well as in offices. The company's sales have grown manifold since 2002.

Georgia tea and coffee are also sold as hot beverages at Rs 5-10 a cup.

The cold tea and coffee market in India is at a nascent stage. "It is a new, aspirational category, which is emerging fast," said the executive quoted earlier.

The tea and coffee retail market in India is worth about Rs 10,000 crore a year. Through the past few years, India's coffee retail market has been growing 20-30 per cent year-on-year; it is expected to treble by 2016-17, according to a study by Technova India. More than half of the coffee market is accounted for by instant coffee, double the global average.

The instant coffee market, part of the ready-to-drink category, is dominated by Nestle's Nescafe.

According to a recent study by consulting firm Technopak, there are about 1,800 coffee outlets operating across the top 60 cities in the India. The study added 2,000-2,200 more could easily be absorbed.