Coca-Cola looks to capitalize on growing Indian sports drinks market with Powerade relaunch, says GlobalData

Following the recent news that The Coca-Cola Company plans to relaunch its sports drink Powerade in India within the next two months as part of its strategy to compete with PepsiCo’s Gatorade, Shagun Sachdeva, Consumer Insights Analyst at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers her view:

“The news comes as no surprise as the demand for functional sports drinks is growing exponentially in India and resonates well with millennials. Coca-Cola, being one of the country’s leading beverage companies, is now looking to tap into this category and increase its non-aerated drinks portfolio.

“Coca-Cola has collaborated with ICC World Cup as official sponsor with an aim to compete with Gatorade-owner PepsiCo in India. The calculative strategy is a part of company’s larger focus to evolve into a total beverage company by investing around $5bn by 2020 and make India as its third largest market. This is the second time Coca-Cola is trying to launch Powerade in the country.

“Powerade, which registered billion dollar plus sales globally, is currently available in India through imports. GlobalData forecasts the Indian sports drink market to grow from US$2.81bn in 2017 to US$5.87bn by 2023, propped up by healthy and better-for-you functional beverage options.

“Coca-Cola has collaborated with ICC World Cup as an official sponsor with an aim to compete with Gatorade-owner PepsiCo in India. The calculative strategy is a part of the company’s larger focus to evolve into a total beverage company by investing around $5bn by 2020 and making India its third largest market. This is the second time Coca-Cola is trying to launch Powerade in the country.