Coca-Cola targets Maaza to become $1 bn brand by 2020

The Dollar Business Bureau

Coca-Cola India, one of the leading beverages firm, is aiming to make its mango-based drink Maaza brand, a $1 billion by 2020.

“We would love to see Maaza become a $1 billion brand coming out of India by 2020. The brand has potential to be there. All our consumer research show that Maaza is India’s most trusted and loved brand,” Venkatesh Kini, President, Coca-Cola India and South West Asia, told to PTI.

Acquired in 1993 by Coca-Cola, Maaza at present is more than a Rs.2,000 crore brand, Kini added.

In 1993, the beverages major had also acquired brands like Limca and Thums Up from Parle Bisleri.

For achieving the target, Coca-Cola is also planning to invest in areas like enhancing the production capacity.

“The reason behind resource infusion in Maaza is a part of the plan for $5 billion investment of the Coca-Cola firm and its bottlers in the country, between the period 2012 and 2020. The company’s bottlers are setting up five Greenfield projects in the coming two years, of which at least 50% will have manufacturing units for Maaza,” the company said.

Coca-Cola has announced already one Greenfield project in the state of Madhya Pradesh.

“These new manufacturing units will help in keeping pace with the projected increase in the demand of Maaza in the coming few years,” it said.

Earlier, the company had indicated that the Maaza brand will be $1 billion by 2023. At present, the company and its bottlers in the country procure 70,000 metric tonnes of mango pulp annually, worth around Rs.500 crore.