Coconut Coke Cola and Coconut Pepsi?

Trivandrum, India, Dec. 3 2002 (INS News) -- International soft drink companies such as Coca-Cola and Pepsi Co. are attempting to enter the Indian market by attempting to bottle their national drink, coconut water.

Such companies face fierce competition from the traditional players and will focus their attempts to create a presence in the market by using their mass marketing skills, which have contributed to their worldwide success.

The companies reported interest in Kerala's natural drink coincides with the struggle waged by certain radical groups against them and attempts by state sponsored coconut promotion agencies to increase the use of coconut products hurting their key products like Coke-Cola, Pepsi, Fanta and 7-Up.

Recently opposition to the drink makers is gave a radical group large amounts of media attention when they attacked a Coca Cola bottling plant in north Kerala and destroyed hundreds of bottles of coke. This was part of the state-wide protests by Yuvajana Vedi, an outfit of Communist Party of India (ML) against soft drinks manufactured and marketed by multinational companies.

Other campaigns have been directed against marketing of multinational beverages. Pro-Congress Kerala Deseeya Vedi had met with some success by spearheading a positive propaganda to promote the sale and consumption of coconut water by setting up 'Ilaneer Pandals' (tender coconut kiosks) throughout the state. The move was soon followed up by private traders.

Besides these, the Coconut Board also initiated several measures to propagate consumption of coconut products, in a bid to ease the crisis in the coconut sector and bring relief to coconut growers.

Now that the tender coconut sales are fast picking up, not only in Kerala but also in the southern states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, the multinationals have developed interest in the commercial possibilities of the natural drink.

According to Coconut Board sources, tender coconut has lately become popular in the northern states, especially Delhi. The potential of tender coconut as an ideal health drink full of minerals and capable of rejuvenating the body after exertion is another attraction for foreign entrepreneurs.

Tropicana, a multinational company producing fruit drinks, has approached a private firm Miracle Food Processors Ltd at Perinthalmanna in north Kerala, manufacturers of tender coconut water concentrate, for supply of the product on a mass scale.

Tropicana, according to company sources, require 6000 tonnes of tender coconut concentrate. Ironically the north Kerala company is capable of supplying only 300 tonnes at present.

Certain other Multinational companies have also evinced interest. Coconut trade circles hold the view that a consortium-type arrangement in the state will help meet the requirement of the Multinationals. The State Government and its coconut promotion agencies could also play a pivotal role in tapping the new market possibilities of tender coconut, according to experts.

Both Coke-Cola and Pepsi are targeting growth markets like India because of declining opportunities in existing markets which have been saturated by both companies. Pepsi continues to attempt gain some of Coke-Cola's large market share. Coke-Cola has developed important relationships with key outlets for exclusive distribution in fast-food chains like McDonalds.

In existing markets both companies are attempting to grow their business by introducing a range of new flavors and branching out into out other areas of the market like bottled water and juices.

-- Binu Raveendranath in Trivandrum, India; with additional reporting by Glen Burns in Sydney.
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