Season's special coolers add fizz

To offset the monsoon slump in sales and to keep the buzz alive, soft drinks majors Coca Cola India and PepsiCo are busy launching variants of their existing products. Sprite Zero from the Coca Cola company is set to hit the market in the next 2-3 days.

It also introduced Sprite Ice and Maaza Gold in mid-June. PepsiCo, meanwhile, came up with its limited edition drinks -- Mirinda Batman Berry Fusion and 7-Up Ice.

For the lean season Pepsi has revived its cricket World Cup experiment of launching special edition drinks (Pepsi Blue was introduced in 2003 to support the 'Men in Blue' Indian cricket team).

In the summer of 2005, Batman Berry Fusion Blast was launched to coincide with the worldwide launch of the film Batman Begins as Mirinda is the worldwide partner of Warner Bros.

While the new 7-Up Ice combines the cooling effect of mint and the freshness of lime, Mirinda Batman Berry Fusion is made from a combination of grapes and black currant, says Lloyd Mathais, executive vice-president marketing PepsiCo.

Mathais adds that the two 'in and out' drinks, as they are called, were launched in June and will be out by the mid September.  "Today consumers like trying out new trends and tastes. Introducing 'in and out' drinks is a good way to boost the market and reinforce our brand," he maintains.

Coca Cola does not agree. "As a marketer we believe in letting the consumer decide the life of a product," says a Coke executive. He added to say that none of its new introductions are limited edition drinks.

Instead, Coca Cola's new products offer a greater choice to the consumer and enhance the appeal of carbonated soft drinks, feels Vikas Gupta, vice-president, marketing, Coca-Cola India. Sprite Ice and Maaza Gold (orange and pineapple flavours) were introduced to provide more choice to the consumers.

"Sprite regular is the fastest growing soft drink. The Ice and Zero innovations are designed to enhance the leadership position of the company," points out a Coke official.

Sprite Zero, priced at Rs 20 for 600 ml, has less than one calorie and is being positioned as an alternative to Diet Coke.

It will be available in the metros and it is the first 'light' brand to come out in the flavours segment in India, claims Gupta. Incidentally, the Rs 7,000 crore (Rs 70 billion) domestic market for carbonated soft drinks represents only 3 per cent of the total drinks consumption.