ET NowTalking to ET Now, Ahmet Muhtar Kent, CEO, The Coca-Cola Company. said he was are very thankful for the support that the company has received from everyone in India including the government
ET Now: You changed your campaign from Open Happiness in 2009 to Taste The Feeling. What was the trigger for that?
Ahmet Muhtar Kent: Campaigns usually last for 4 to 6 years and this campaign had been very successful for the last six years. It was time to move on to a new campaign. We are very enthusiastic about how it was received by our bottling partners, our customers and consumers around the world.
ET Now: Does 'Taste The Feeling' in some sense convey that you want to push products like Diet Coke or Coke Zero in markets?
Ahmet Muhtar Kent: No, we do not push. We basically follow consumer tastes and at the end of the day, we will be there ahead of consumer demand with our portfolio. For a century we are one product, one brand company and now we have 3,500 innovative brands and we will continue to innovate and continue to expand our portfolio.
ET Now: There is a lot of resistance as far as sugary, frizzy, full-calorie drinks are concerned. Going forward, will we see Coca-Cola move away from Coke, considering that there has been a consistent plateauing out of sales?
Ahmet Muhtar Kent: I think sparkling drinks are a great portfolio. Coca-Cola remains the number one brand in the world and at the end of the day, we will follow consumer tastes. That is why we are the number one juice in India with Maaza, that's we are the number one water brand in India with Kinley and that is why we are number one lemon lime in India with Sprite. Sprite is number one non-alcoholic brand and so the key is continuing to follow consumer choice.
ET Now: India likes Coke but will we see snacks from Coke make the way into, just like Pepsi has?
Ahmet Muhtar Kent: We love drinks.
ET Now: You changed your campaign from Open Happiness in 2009 to Taste The Feeling. What was the trigger for that?
Ahmet Muhtar Kent: Campaigns usually last for 4 to 6 years and this campaign had been very successful for the last six years. It was time to move on to a new campaign. We are very enthusiastic about how it was received by our bottling partners, our customers and consumers around the world.
ET Now: Does 'Taste The Feeling' in some sense convey that you want to push products like Diet Coke or Coke Zero in markets?
Ahmet Muhtar Kent: No, we do not push. We basically follow consumer tastes and at the end of the day, we will be there ahead of consumer demand with our portfolio. For a century we are one product, one brand company and now we have 3,500 innovative brands and we will continue to innovate and continue to expand our portfolio.
ET Now: There is a lot of resistance as far as sugary, frizzy, full-calorie drinks are concerned. Going forward, will we see Coca-Cola move away from Coke, considering that there has been a consistent plateauing out of sales?
Ahmet Muhtar Kent: I think sparkling drinks are a great portfolio. Coca-Cola remains the number one brand in the world and at the end of the day, we will follow consumer tastes. That is why we are the number one juice in India with Maaza, that's we are the number one water brand in India with Kinley and that is why we are number one lemon lime in India with Sprite. Sprite is number one non-alcoholic brand and so the key is continuing to follow consumer choice.
ET Now: India likes Coke but will we see snacks from Coke make the way into, just like Pepsi has?
Ahmet Muhtar Kent: We love drinks.
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