Coca-Cola India Q2 fizz fades on early monsoon, geopolitical strains – Industry News

Beverage major Coca-Cola flagged early and unseasonal rains as well as geopolitical issues for a decline in volumes in India during the June quarter. The company follows a January-December accounting year. It declared its financial numbers for Q2 of CY2025 on Tuesday, providing a perspective on India, its fifth-largest market by volume, during an earnings’ call the same day.

Incidentally, Coca-Cola is the second company after rival PepsiCo flagged similar concerns last week, saying it saw a decline in beverage volumes due to unseasonal rains in the country. But PepsiCo added that it saw share gains for brand Pepsi in India, China, Mexico, Brazil and the UK in Q2. While its food business turned in a “good performance” in India during the second quarter of CY2025.

Coca-Cola said that its consolidated unit case volumes declined 1% in Q2 as growth in Central Asia, Argentina and China was more than offset by declines in Mexico, India and Thailand.

Weather, Geopolitics Dent

“In India, after a strong start to the year, volume declined as our business was impacted by early monsoons and the geopolitical conflict (India-Pakistan tensions) early in the summer season,” James Quincey, chairman & CEO of The Coca-Cola Company, said, during the investor call.

Despite the setback, the company noted that it remained bullish about its outlook for the future, with “re-energised focus” on the India market following the divestment of 40% stake in its company-owned bottling operations (Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages) to the Jubilant Bhartia Group. Earlier this month, Coca-Cola had announced the appointment of industry veteran Hemant Rupani as the new CEO of HCCB effective September 8.

Strategic bets

Quincey said the company was engaging consumers with integrated marketing campaigns like Coca-Cola Meals supported by execution in the quick-service restaurant channel with initiatives such as Thums Up with biryani, Sprite with spicy meals and Maaza with festivals.

Quincey also said that the appointment of the new CEO for HCCB would infuse new energy and dynamism into the company.

“We think we’ve got a strong plan from a marketing and innovation point of view. With some re-energised focus on this transition, we’re pretty confident on where we’ll go in India,” he said.

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