How Coca-Cola plans to scale its Indian business in 2026
What's the story
The Coca-Cola Company, a $330 billion beverage giant, is betting big on the Indian market. James Quincey, the outgoing CEO of Coca-Cola, said India has long-term volume growth potential. However, he admitted that consumer demand in key markets such as India and China has not fully recovered to the pre-pandemic levels.
Market downturn
Decline in revenue and profit for Coca-Cola in Asia Pacific
The Asia Pacific region, which contributes a quarter of Coca-Cola's total volumes, witnessed a decline in revenue and profit during the last quarter. This was mostly due to softer consumer spending and a high base from the previous year. The decline was particularly steep in India, where industry dynamics and weather conditions contributed to the downturn.
Bottling impact
Bottling unit's decline in volume
Coca-Cola's APAC bottling unit witnessed a 6% decline in volume during the last quarter. The drop was mainly attributed to declines in India and the impact of refranchising, which is the sale of company-owned outlets to new or existing franchisees. Despite these challenges, Coca-Cola gained $102 million in 2025 from refranchising its bottling operations in select Indian territories.
Global performance
Global scale growth and investments in India
On a global scale, Coca-Cola's unit case volume rose by 1% for the quarter and remained flat for the full year. Despite this, the company and its bottling partners are now investing in new production lines in India. They expect their business to be back on track by this year.
Tech integration
Technology to the rescue for Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is also leveraging technology to revive its business. The firm plans to deploy digital ordering tools and artificial intelligence (AI) such as agentic AI, which recommends the next best stock-keeping unit (SKU) to retailers. It also plans to build an end-to-end digital ecosystem connecting consumer engagement with transactions.