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Tag: Coca-cola CO

  • Hemant Rupani to head Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages as CEO

    Hemant Rupani to head Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages as CEO

    BENGALURU:  Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages (HCCB), India’s largest Coca-Cola bottler, has named Hemant Rupani as its new chief executive, effective 8 September. Rupani takes over from Juan Pablo Rodriguez, who is moving on to a new role within the global Coca-Cola system.

    Rupani, a seasoned operator with stints across FMCG, telecom, and tech, currently serves as Mondelez’s business unit president for southeast Asia, overseeing operations in Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. He joined Mondelez in 2016 and has held leadership roles in India and Vietnam, rising to his current post in 2022.

    The appointment comes at a pivotal time for HCCB, following Coca-Cola’s move in December 2024 to sell a 40 per cent stake in Hindustan Coca-Cola Holdings Pvt Ltd—the parent company of HCCB—to the Jubilant Bhartia group.

    A mechanical engineering graduate from Regional Engineering College, Jaipur, with an MBA in marketing from FMS Delhi, Rupani began his career in 1997 at ICI India. He has since worked with PepsiCo, Infosys, Vodafone, and Britannia, steadily climbing the leadership ladder across sectors.

    He will report to the HCCB board and is expected to steer the company’s next phase of growth, amid rising investment in India and intensifying competition in the beverage market.

    The Coca-Cola Co, listed on NYSE as KO, operates in over 200 markets and employs more than 700,000 people through its global bottling partners.

  • Coca-Cola reports strong quarter as Maaza joins billion-dollar brand club

    Coca-Cola reports strong quarter as Maaza joins billion-dollar brand club

    MUMBAI: The fizz in the Coca-Cola Co continues to be strong. It has reported a six per cent  rise in  its latest quarterly revenue to $11.5 billion in the period to 31 December 2024, with Indian beverage Maaza becoming its 30th billion-dollar brand. Thums Up and Sprite are the other Indian brands in the billion dollar club.

    The company saw unit case volumes increase by two per cent  in the fourth quarter of 2024, while full-year volumes grew one per cent, driven by strong performance in India, Brazil and Mexico.

    “In India, our business rebounded nicely during the quarter and we grew volume. We recruited consumers with innovative marketing campaigns that link Coca-Cola with music, Sprite with travel and Thums Up with movies”, said  The Coca-Cola Co chairman and CEO James Quincey.

    The company’s digital transformation in India added approximately 440,000 outlets to its customer platforms in 2024. The beverage giant also completed a significant refranchising of its Indian bottling operations, recording net gains of $303 million for the year.

    Chief financial officer John Murphy, following a recent visit to India, said: “The Indian market has got a tremendous amount of runway ahead. We believe that the Jubilant group coming in is going to add tremendously to our abilities to continue to step change our execution in the marketplace”.

    The Coca-Cola Co has been facing intense competition in the Indian marketplace which is only going to multiply with Reliance Industries putting all its might behind the Campa Cola brand to crack open the soft drink market for itself. Price has so far been the pivot which has seen its brands Campa Cola corner 10 per cent plus shares in certain markets where launches have been made