Modi wants fruit in colas, but spoilers come in the way

While fruity colas are not unheard of, there are a number of hurdles in making it happen in India

Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants cola giants PepsiCo and Coca-Cola to help Indian fruit farmers by adding at least 5% natural juice in their fizzy drinks. But can the two companies deliver? There are four reasons why it might not be that easy. 

 

One, a large part of the key juices like orange and apples which the cola companies sell in India are based on imported juice concentrate. That is because the quality of fruits that they are looking to make a Pepsi Tropicana Orange or a Minute Maid from Coke is simply not available in the country. So even if juices are put in the carbonated drinks it might not make any difference to the Indian farmers as they cannot source it from them. 

 

The good news is that work is already on to grow farm oranges which are of the same standard as, say, Florida in the US. Coke, for instance, has tied up with Mumbai-based Jain Irrigation to grow high quality oranges from imported saplings but it will take more than two years before it bears the right fruit. 

 

But for many other juices such as mango, banana, and litchi, cola companies are already sourcing their fruit from Indian farmers. Can this be added to a cola? Cola companies say technically it can but the taste would not attract customers and globally there are no such products either. But with other carbonated drinks such as Sprite in Mexico, Coke has experimented with fruit flavours. 

 

Also, it could be possible to add juices in, say, Fanta a fruit-flavoured carbonated drink which is available globally in a huge range of choices from cherry, grapefruit, peach, and apple, to name just a few. However unfortunately in India Fanta is available only in orange flavour. Pepsi, on the other hand, has Mirinda in orange, grape and apple, which could give them more leeway for further experimentation. 

 

Secondly, cola companies point out that mixing juice with carbonated drinks poses a new challenge. The shelf life of a carbonated drink in India can be as much as 12 months and can withstand varying temperatures . In contrast juices have a much lower shelf life, of around 4-5 months. In order to prolong shelf life, cola companies would be forced to use more preservatives which could dramatically alter the taste and the product offering. 

 

Thirdly, cola companies argue that adding juices in carbonated drinks would also increase the overall cost of production. So it will have no option but to increase the price of such drinks, which obviously would severely limit the market. 

 

The fourth concern is whether Indian consumers would go for a combination of fizz with their juice. Market experts say that Parle Agro for instance already has a product in Appy Fizz as well as Grappo Fizz -- the latter, made with grapes, has been discontinued -- which combines apple juice, but despite large advertisement push, it is not a product that has consumers lining up for it. Analysts say that its sales are concentrated in pubs and discos, but has not gone mass market.