India contributes to Coca-Cola's global volume growth in Jan-Mar

We also extended Sprite into more rural regions with content tailored to local languages. In the Asia Pacific market zone of Coca-Cola, which includes India, unit case volume grew 5 per cent, driven by growth across all global beverage categories.

Global beverages major The Coca-Cola Company on Tuesday reported a 3 per cent growth in unit case volume in the first quarter of 2026, aided by key markets including India. The Atlanta-headquartered multinational, which posted a 12 per cent rise in net revenue to USD 12.5 billion in the first quarter of 2026, said the growth was ''led by China, the United States and India''. However, the company noted that the Indian market witnessed a decline in the non-alcoholic ready-to-drink (NARTD) segment, which comprises fruit juices, energy drinks, sports beverages and dairy alternatives. Unit case volume refers to the number of unit cases of company beverages directly or indirectly sold by the company and its bottling partners to customers. The Coca-Cola Company said it is progressing toward ''more balanced growth'' by remaining consumer-centric. In markets like South Africa and India, it continued to expand its use of ultra-lightweight bottles, which supported volume growth in both markets. India is the fifth-largest market for the Coca-Cola Company. In the post-results investors call, Coca-Cola company CEO Henrique Braun said: ''In India, we drove affordability and linked our brands to consumer special points, for instance, by connecting Thums Up with the T20 cricket world cup. We also extended Sprite into more rural regions with content tailored to local languages.'' In the Asia Pacific market zone of Coca-Cola, which includes India, unit case volume grew 5 per cent, driven by growth across all global beverage categories. Its revenue in the zone was at USD 1.5 billion, up 6.1 per cent. However, Braun said: ''Value share in total NARTD beverages for the company was even, as gains in Japan and South Korea were offset by declines in India and Vietnam.'' While replying to a query on the Asia Pacific and India market, Braun said for Coca-Cola, India remains a long-term growth market. Braun said that India offers a unique opportunity for the company to connect with consumers through a diverse portfolio, including local brands acquired years ago, which continue to strengthen its presence in the market. ''If you go to India, it's deeply important to build this for the long term, a place where we are fortunate to also have local brands under the portfolio that were acquired a long time ago, composing a full portfolio that gives us the opportunity to be connected with the consumers in a very unique way in that place,'' he said. However, he said the company is still some distance away from achieving a fully mature market architecture in India, particularly in terms of RGM (revenue growth management) and development capabilities. ''We are building this for the long term... but we are still far away from getting our overall architecture on RGM and our development capabilities to the stage where we can call it a mature market,'' Braun said.