Coke To Uncork Limca, Thums Up Abroad

Foreign consumers will soon be tasting the Indian thunder. Almost four years after it acquired Thums Up and Limca from Ramesh Chauhan, US soft drinks major Coca-Cola has reversed its take it easy attitude to marketing these brands in global markets.

Coca-Cola will export cans of these two brands to Singapore, Hong Kong and West Asia in a bid to exploit the potentially lucrative non-resident Indian segment. In case substantial volumes are notched up, Coke might bottle the products in these countries at a later stage.

The 330ml cans will be manufactured at Cokes Pune bottling plant, is owned by Britco, a 100 per cent bottling subsidiary of Coca-Cola India.

 

There is a tremendous market for Thums Up and Limca among ethnic Indians, especially non-resident Indians who are settled abroad. For instance, there is a great potential for the success of these brands in Singapore where Indians constitute 15 per cent of the total population. We are also introducing it in other markets like West Asia and Hong Kong, which are strongholds of ethnic Indians, said Donald Short, chief executive officer of Coca-Cola India.

The plan to market the two Indian brands abroad gathered momentum after Coca-Cola specially flew in 800 cans of Thums Up and Limca to serve US-based NRIs during the unveiling of Mahatma Gandhis statue in Atlanta.

The overwhelming response of the NRIs to these two brands, especially the younger generation, convinced us of the potential success of these two brands abroad among ethnic Indians, emphasised Short.

Coke executives say Limca is a unique cloudy lemon brand, and there is no similar brand anywhere in the world. Thums Up too is a distinguished brand, known for its high level of carbonation, which has a substantial marketshare in India.

Exporting Thums Up and Limca to overseas markets would also help Coca-Cola meet its export commitments to the Indian government.

While clearing Coca-Colas investment proposal, the Foreign Investment Promotion Board had stipulated that the company would have to maintain a 3:1 exports-to-imports ratio. Coca-Cola Indias accumulated exports up to December 1997 had exceeded Rs 390 crore.