Now serving: Coca-Cola and Swiggy’s ‘Lucknow is Cooking’

It is the latest offering in the beverage major’s nod to pushing branded content towards consumers.

Beverage giant Coca-Cola is set to serve up a second helping serving of its food and music experience platform ‘Coke is Cooking’ in Lucknow. 

To be held on September 23 and 24,  2023, ‘Lucknow is Cooking’ promises visitors a spread of over 40 food stalls, live performances by more than 10 artists, and other forms of live entertainment and games.

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The event's description on the Insider ticket booking website invites attendees to, “… gorge on authentic flavours of Lucknow served by the city’s 50+ hottest eateries, and sway to the mesmerizing performances by the top-rated artists of the country while you sip on some Coke in between all that munching and grooving.”

The platform was first launched in India with Kolkata being the first city to experience this offering with ‘Kolkata is Cooking’ in 2022. 

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Unlike the previous event, the addition of Swiggy into the fray is a first. One can assume there will be some provision for delivery of the dishes being served during the two days of the experience. The ticket prices for the event start at from Rs 249. 

Maroof Umar, founder and creative director, Culmen Creative Concepts, is supposedly behind the promotional video as indicated by the collaboration tag on it.

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The ‘Coke is Cooking’ event is one of the many branded content pieces the company is pushing towards consumers. In India, the company also features the Coke Studio Bharat YouTube channel and the Toofani Biryani Hunt with celebrity chef Ranveer Brar on Disney+ Hotstar. 

“I think branded IPs and platforms like Coke Studio will go a long way in becoming ecosystems,” remarked Arnab Roy to afaqs! in February 2023. He is VP, marketing, India and Southwest Asia, The Coca-Cola Company.

He made this remark while addressing the challenges of standing out and how the beverage giant will start minimising its dependence on 30-second ads. “How do you stand out in between 7 million pieces of content being uploaded every day in India, a 30-second TVC won't do it.”