Coca-Cola to increase fruit sourcing for juices, aerated drinks

NEW DELHI: Beverages major Coca-Cola India is looking to enhance sourcing of fruits in India for its beverages under juice and aerated drinks categories.

The company, which currently procures about 2 lakh metric tonnes of fruits, plans to increase it further as part of its ' fruit circular economy' initiative.

The circular economy initiative is aimed at creating a virtuous economic cycle to positively impact Indian agriculture, Coca-Cola said in a statement.

"We visualise that this initiative will create a spurt in our local procurement of fruit and farm-level interventions to have a positive impact on the Indian horticulture ecosystem," it said.

As part of the initiative, the company has appointed Asim Parekh as Vice President - Fruit Circular Economy INSWABU, with immediate effect.

INSWABU refers to India and South West Asia region.

In this role, Parekh will be driving the critical task of connecting the end-to-end value chain from farmer to grocer.