India has had the “strongest year ever": John Murphy, Coca-Cola Global Chief

According to Coca-Cola's global president and chief financial officer John Murphy, India has had its "strongest year ever," heralding a period of rapid growth. He made this statement during the company's presentation at the recent Consumer Analyst Group of New York (CAGNY) 2023 conference.

Murphy praised the India team as having a "fantastic 2022" and continued, "Early in the year, our team was able to double down on both a handful of important categories and a couple of geographies that were fueling outsized growth."

The Atlanta-based producer of Coke and Sprite soft drinks as well as Minute Maid juice had reported that for the three months that ended in December 2022, "strong growth" in India, its fifth-largest worldwide market, had helped its unit case volumes in developing and emerging economies.

At the same conference, James Quincey, the global chairman and CEO of Coca-Cola, said: "India had a cracking year last year; we've got a lot of hope for driving the company in India with horizontal expansion and adding stores. Both the number of lines ordered for next year and the number of lines travelling to India this year are extraordinarily high, according to Quincey.

According to the firm, unit case volumes for sparkling flavours decreased 2% in the December quarter but increased 5% overall. According to the firm, value share growth in the market of ready-to-drink beverages was driven primarily by gains in India, Australia, Japan, and South Korea.