Coke, Pepsi lose market share in non-fizzy too

NEW DELHI: It’s not only the carbonated (fizzy) soft-drinks category that has got multinational beverage giants Coke and PepsiCo worried. In the non-fizzy segment too, homegrown brands such as Parle Agro’s Frooti and Dabur’s Real have eaten into market shares of Coca-Cola’s Maaza and PepsiCo’s Slice, revealed market research firm Nielsen’s data for a 12-month period ending September 2017.

For instance, Dabur’s Real has entered the top three nonfizzy beverages chart in India, overtaking PepsiCo’s Slice, according to senior industry executives who quoted Nielsen’s data for Juices, Nectars and Still Drinks (JNSD) category. Dabur India marketing head for foods, Mayank Kumar, said, “In developed markets globally, juices and nectars category is far bigger than other non-fizzy drinks. India is also following this trend. With growing health consciousness, the market for healthy beverages has expanded exponentially.”

Dabur’s Real ended the 12 months to September 2017 with a market share of 9.8% compared to 9.2% a year earlier in JNSD category. Real is already the market leader in the over Rs 2,000-crore packaged juices market with a share of 54%, claimed a Dabur India spokesperson. When asked about the reason behind Frooti’s year-on-year growth in market share, Parle Agro joint MD & CMO Nadia Chauhan said taste played an important role. “I don’t want to comment on competition,” she said. “But we have kept the taste of Frooti consistent.”

PepsiCo India’s VP in nutrition category, Deepika Warrier, said the company has reduced its investments on commoditised, low-margin segments, including low juice content segments and has instead increased focus on its juice brand Tropicana.