Coca-Cola says India biz volume impacted due unseasonal rain, geopolitical conflict but remains bullish

James Quincey, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Coca-Cola Company

Beverage major Coca-Cola on Tuesday said that unseasonal rains and the geopolitical conflict impacted volume growth in India operations in the second quarter. The company stated that despite the volume decline witnessed in Q2 CY2025 (ended June 27) it remains bullish and confident on the India growth story with a “re-energised focus” following the divestment of a stake in its company-owned bottling operations to the Jubilant Bhartia Group.

At an earnings call, James Quincey, Chairman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company, said, “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 conflict)…early in the important summer season.”

“In response, we’re engaging consumers with integrated marketing campaigns like Coca-Cola Meals supported by execution in the quick service restaurant channel—Thums Up with biryani, Sprite with spicy meals and Maaza with festivals and tailoring these activations to regional and local needs. Also, our system is adding customer outlets and recently surpassed 1 million customers on the digital ordering platform,” he added.

Pact with Jubilant Bhartia Group

In December, the Coca-Cola Company had announced an agreement with Jubilant Bhartia Group for divestment of 40 per cent stake in Hindustan Coca-Cola Holdings Pvt Ltd, parent company of its largest bottler in India, Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages (HCCB). Earlier this month, the beverage major announced the appointment of industry veteran Hemant Rupani as the new CEO for HCCB effective September 8.

Responding to a query on future outlook for India, Quincey said, “ In the case of India, its never going to be a straight line and indeed Q2 was not. But we are very bullish on India overall. We have a lot of marketing campaigns focused on India. We have also just set up the first of its kind re-franchising piece with Jubilant Group for the company-owned bottler…. That’s up and running with a new CEO. We think that will bring some new energy, dynamism, focus and proactivity to the execution in the marketplace. So we think we’ve got a strong plan from a marketing and innovation point of view. With some re-energized focus on this transition bottler, we’re pretty confident on where we’ll go in India.”

Overall, Coca-Cola said that “consolidated unit case volume declined 1 per cent as growth in Central Asia, Argentina and China was more than offset by declines in Mexico, India and Thailand.”

Published on July 22, 2025

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