Product Mix & Branding Strategy of Coca-Cola

Coke
Coke

Diet Coke

Sprite

Coke Zero

Fanta
Beverages
Limca
Maaza
Thumbs Up
Water

Kinley

Product Mix

Pulpy
Orange
Nimbu
Fresh

I)

Juice

Minute
Maid

Guava

Soda

Kinley

Mango

Energy
Drink

Burn

Mixed

Beverages: Coca-Cola under have 5 brands under the category of beverages:

1) Coke: In India, Coke was branded as a beverage that could be associated with the people of
India. In most parts of India, any thirst quenching drink is called as thanda. So, when Coke
branded itself as thanda matlab Coca-Cola, it struck a chord with the people of India.
Connecting with the routine lifestyle and colloquial of the mass was the branding strategy
while establishing Coke in India.

a) Diet Coke: When people became more health conscious and started consuming less of Coke,
Coca-Cola came up with Diet Coke. It is a sugar free drink specially made for health
conscious people. Its target audience is people who go to gym or are on a diet or even
people with diabetes. To make the drink more lively or tasty, it recently came up with an ad
featuring Taylor Swift with the tag line Get a Taste and what if life tasted as good as Diet
Coke. So, it successfully branded itself as a healthy and tasty beverage.
b) Coke Zero: Coke Zero is similar to that of Diet Coke but differs in how it is branded. Diet
Coke was perceived to be a drink for women, especially by men. So, a product which is
associated with women, consumption of that may not suit the ego of men. So, Coke
branded Zero targeting only the men.
2) Sprite: Sprite was a counter attack to Pepsis 7up. The target market is the whole young
consumer group. When it came up with tagline Seedhi Baat No Bakwas, Clear Hai! it aimed
at weeding out pretense and cutting to the chase. The focus was simple: a thirst quenching
drink with unpretentious attitude of Sprite! It simply marketed itself as a product for people
who are pragmatic, and since the youth of India is more conscious and practical, it struck a
chord with them.
3) Fanta: Fanta is branded as a beverage targeting the fun loving people, who are up for party
anytime. Its latest tagline Snack Time, Fanta Time associated itself with small parties and a
beverage that could be consumed on a daily basis just like a snack. Creating animated ads
attracts not only the youth but also the children. So, Fanta is now branding itself to secure a
new target audience which is children.
4) Limca: Limca has never targeted a particular age group rather it has projected itself as a
lemony flavor aerated drink for all which has worked it its favor. For India, its branding
strategy is to replace generic Nimbu Paani with Limca as a cold beverage during summers,
thats why Limca ads pop up more during peak summers. Its recent ad with the tagline
Pyaas Badhao aims to inspire its consumers to push themselves, get even more 'thirsty' in
whatever they do, and emerge as winners.
5) Maaza: With its latest tag line of Har Mausam Aam is a bang on as it tries to create an all
season brand proposition for the product, thus creating consumption all year. Also, inclusion
of Imran Khan and Pareniti Chopra is also strategic. Both of them are successful, energetic,
go-getters and wanting to make a difference and thats what the youth of India aims at. So,
Maaza is branding itself as an all season beverage and connecting with the youth as well.
II)

Water: Coca-Cola under the brand name Kinley sells bottled mineral water. Its brand
proposition is simple. Their belief that safe drinking water is fundamental, they brand Kinley
as a product which comes up with assurance from Coca-Cola itself, regarding the purity of

the product. Since, Coca-Cola enjoys a heavy customer base and being an old establishment,
it signifies assurance implicitly.
III)

Juice: Coca-Cola, under the brand name of Minute Maid sells fresh juice. Minute Maid
basically targets people who are health conscious and earn a certain level of income. It
brands itself as a juice which is fresh, healthy and comes with the reliability of Coca-Cola. By
the brand Minute Maid, Coca-Cola is trying to brand the unbranded market of fresh juice
drinks
in
India.

IV)

Soda: Soda is a complimentary product mixed in alcoholic drinks. So, branding itself in that
sense was not the right move for Coca-Cola as it could possibly loose the large customer
base and loyalty. So, it branded the Soda under the brand name of Kinley.

V)

Energy Drinks: In India, Coca-Cola sells only one energy drink under the brand name Burn.
Its tagline is Fuel your fire which could be related and associated with people who are
adventurous, more involved in sports (especially extreme sports). That is the reason why
Burn sponsors extreme sports like skateboarding, snowboarding and Motocross. The
communication idea defined is Passion is energy. But, in India, Burn has not been able to
brand itself as such a huge level as Red bull has.

Conclusion:
i)

ii)

Coca-Cola has clearly defined its product mix and product line and the products in any
product line are strategically branded. Branding is done keeping in mind the target segment
to which the company is targeting. By doing so, it is creating a space of huge customer base
for each of its products, differentiating each other in the manner which does not lead to
internal competition among the brands of its own.
The branding strategy of each and every product is unique. Even though the taste and
outlook of two products may be same, but branding is done in such a manner that the
customer chooses the one which he/she thinks that is apt for him/her. But, the branding is
ultimately is done by company, so, if the customer thinks that a particular product, so
branded, is apt for him/her, companys strategy could be treated as a success.

Submitted by:
Utsav Gahtori
80011314014