Indian soft drink market expected to see significant growth, says PepsiCo bottler Varun Beverages
The Indian soft drink market is expected to see “significant growth” as consumption is anticipated to increase steadily, which will deliver sustainable and healthy volume growth across all product categories, said Varun Beverages Ltd (VBL), PepsiCo’s largest franchise bottler. This would be driven by factors such as shifting population demographics, the rising spending power of young consumers, accelerated urbanization, and growing rural consumption.
The company is in the process of further expanding its capacities to meet the higher demand expectations, said VBL in its latest annual report. Its distribution model and on-the-ground end-to-end infrastructure facilities continue to be the key growth drivers and VBL remains committed to extending it to newer areas and under-penetrated regions to further boost its market presence,” it added. While from an operational standpoint, VBL continues to focus on new product categories and evolving customer preferences.
Launch of new products such as energy drink ‘Sting’ performed well across various geographical regions and recent launches in the value-added dairy segment have received positive consumer response. “Overall, VBL is confident in its ability to deliver strong and sustained growth moving forward, owing to the exceptional performance during the year, normalisation of the environment, and the expanded capacities to meet the high demand expectations,” it said.