FACTORS LEADING TO GROWTH OF

SOFT DRINK INDUSTRY IN INDIA

INDEX
I.

Introduction
4
II. Purpose of the study
4
III. Objectives of study
5
IV. Scope of study
5
V. Methodology
6
VI. Assumptions & Limitations
7
VII. Research & Findings:

PAGE
NOS.

What is a beverage?
8
Study of growth of soft drink market
11
Indian history
11
Growth of soft drink market in India
12
Present scenario of soft drink market
13
Market statistics
15
Major players in the soft drink market
16
2

VIII.

Research Design
20
IX. Sampling technique used
21
X. Sources of data collection
21
XI. Data analysis & findings
23
XII. Findings & analysis
29
XIII. Conclusion
31
XIV. Appendices
32
XV. Bibliography
33

INDEX OF TABLES &

ILLUSTRATIONS
1. TABLES:

PAGE
NOS.

1.1: Drink preference.

23
1.2: Frequency of consumption.
24
1.3: Reason for consumption of Soft Drink.
25
1.4: Reason for purchase of Soft Drink.
26
1.5: Alternative to Soft Drinks.
27
1.6: Effect of advertisement on purchase of Soft
Drinks. 28
2.GRAPHS:
2.1: Drink preference.
23
2.2: Frequency of consumption.
24
2.3: Reason for purchase of Soft Drink.
26

3.PIE - CHARTS:
4

3.1: Reason for consumption of Soft Drink.

25
3.2: Alternative to Soft Drinks.
27
3.3: Effect of advertisement on purchase of Soft
Drinks.
28

4.

INTRODUCTION
Soft Drinks are a common preference among all the
individuals. With the changing lifestyle and income
levels, people are shifting their consumption patterns.
Market Research is based on consumption patterns
parameters like: In consumption patterns, I want to
highlight the factors which influence the consumer to
buy soft drinks. Various factors which influence the
consumption of beverages are:
1. Health drink
2. Status symbol.
3. Taste
4. Variety
5. Brand ambassador
6. Advertising campaign.
The basic subject matter of the research, analysis of
Soft Drinks is focused to study the mind/taste of
different age groups of people .The study starts with
determining the major players in the soft drinks, their
overall consumption pattern among the people and
ends up with the conclusion as per the state of mind of
the average rational human being.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

The main aim of this research study is to analyse the
preference of people (of different age groups) on

consumption patterns of carbonated Soft Drinks, hence

leading to the growth of Indian soft drink industry.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

To study the preferences of the people for the soft
drinks according to the different age groups.
To find out the factors that influences the consumers
consumption of soft drinks.
To determine which alternative people prefer other
than soft drinks.
To test the know-how of the consumers regarding the
various existing brands of soft drinks.
To find out how the soft drinks are positioned in the
mind of the consumers.

SCOPE OF THE STUDY

Seasonal drinks are not considered in the study.
Not considering water & alcoholic drinks.
This study is confined to the areas of Santa Cruz,
Khar & Bandra.
This study examined the relative contributions of taste
and health considerations on consumer liking and
purchase intent of cola drinks. Consumers were asked
7

to complete a brief questionnaire on soft drinks. Data

were analysed using factor analysis. Results revealed
that purchase intent of cola drinks was strongly related
to degree of liking and to several key sensory attributes
including taste, drinks flavour and greasiness.
These variables merged as factors in the analysis:
Factor 1 suggests that consumers perceive these
characteristics as being most important in their choice
of cola drinks.
Factor 2 described a health dimension and was related
to respondents attitudes.
Factor 3 comprised two remaining sensory attributes
(colour and crunchiness), which apparently were of
minor importance to the respondents. These data
suggest that in spite of current concern about reducing
dietary fat, health remains secondary to taste in the
selection of cola drinks for consumers in this
population.

METHODOLOGY
Every project work is based on certain methodology,
which is a way to systematically solve the problem or
attain its objectives. It is a very important guideline and
lead to completion of any project work through
observation, data collection and data analysis.
Accordingly, the methodology used in the project is as
follows: Defining the objectives of the study
Framing of questionnaire keeping objectives in mind
(considering the objectives)
8

Feedback from the respondents

Analysis of feedback
Conclusion & findings
Data is collected through Market survey in areas of
Mumbai Santa Cruz, Khar and Bandra.
Data Collection Instrument:
Well prepared structured questionnaires were used in
this study, which includes both closed-ended and few
open-ended questions to get information based on the
objective of the research process. People of different
age group from different economic background were
asked to fill the questionnaire containing 10 questions.
Sample Size is taken 100.

ASSUMPTIONS
It is assumed that the chosen sample is the
representation of whole population.
It is assumed that information provided by the
samples is accurate and best of their knowledge.

LIMITATIONS
The study was confined to some areas of Mumbai
only.
Retailers view and the companies view to the
questionnaire were not available.
9

 Time and cost constraints were also there.

Only few soft drinks have been taken into
consideration, the taken products are specified
later in the project.
A Sample size of 100 has been taken due to time
limitations.
Some respondents took the questionnaire as
wastage of time thus filing them very casually
which has been ignored.
Since the result has been drawn on the basis
of the information provided by the respondents
therefore there is a chance of error.

10

RESEARCH & FINDINGS

BEVERAGE
What is a beverage?
A drink, or beverage, is a liquid specifically prepared for
human consumption. In addition to basic needs,
beverages form part of the culture of human society.
Or
Any liquid suitable for drinking; "may I take your
beverage order?"
Or
Beverage is a liquid to consume, usually excluding
water. This may include tea, coffee, liquor, beer, milk,
or soft drinks.
Types of beverages:
The various types of beverage are:
Alcoholic beverages
Non-Alcohol beverages
Soft drinks
Fruit juice
Hot beverages
Others
1. Alcoholic beverages:
An alcoholic beverage is a drink containing ethanol,
commonly known as alcohol, although in chemistry the
definition of an alcohol includes many other
compounds. Alcoholic beverages, such as wine, beer,
and liquor have been part of human culture and
development for 8,000 years.
11

2. Non-alcohol beverages:
Non-alcoholic beverages are drinks that would normally
contain alcohol, such as beer and wine but are made
with less than 0.5 per cent alcohol by volume. The
category includes drinks that have undergone an
alcohol removal process such as non-alcoholic beers
and de-alcohol zed wines.
Non-alcoholic variants:
Low alcohol beer
Non-alcoholic wine
Sparkling cider
3. Soft drinks:
The name "soft drink" specifies a lack of alcohol by way
of contrast to the term "hard drink" and the term
"drink", the latter of which is nominally neutral but
often carries connotations of alcoholic content.
Beverages like colas, sparkling water, iced tea,
lemonade, squash, and fruit are among the most
common types of soft drinks, while hot chocolate, hot
tea, coffee, milk, tap water, alcohol, and milkshakes do
not fall into this classification. Many carbonated soft
drinks are optionally available in versions sweetened
with sugars or with non-caloric sweeteners. Carbonated
drinks are dominated by artificial flavours based on
cola, orange and lime with Pepsi and Coca-Cola
dominating the market. The entire part of the drink is
based on its artificial flavours and sweetening agents
as no natural juice is used.
4. Fruit juice:
12

Juice is a liquid naturally contained in fruit or vegetable

tissue. Juice is prepared by mechanically squeezing or
macerating fresh fruits or vegetables without the
application of heat or solvents. For example, orange
juice is the liquid extract of the fruit of the orange tree.
Juice may be prepared in the home from fresh fruits and
vegetables using variety of hand or electric juicers.
Many commercial juices are filtered to remove fibre or
pulp, but high pulp fresh orange juice is a popular
beverage. Juice may be marketed in concentrate form,
sometimes frozen, requiring the user to add water to
reconstitute the liquid back to its "original state"
5. Hot beverages:
There are many hot beverages available some of them
are:
Cappuccino
Coffee
Espresso
Caf au lait
Frapp
Flavoured coffees (mocha etc.)
Latte
Hot chocolate
Hot cider
Mulled cider
Tea-based beverages
Flavoured teas (chai etc.)
Green tea
Pearl milk tea
Tea
Herbal teas
Yerba Mate
13

 Roasted grain beverages

6. Other
Some substances may either be called food or drink, or
accordingly be eaten with a spoon or drunk, depending
on solid ingredients in it and on how thick it is, and on
preference:
Soup
Yogurt

STUDY OF GROWTH OF SOFT DRINK

MARKET

INDIAN HISTORY:
Around 1948 the first branded soft drink was introduced
in the Indian market. This soft drink was named as Gold
Spot. Before Coco Cola entered the country to dominate
the scene in 1950, Parle Exports Pvt. Ltd. was the first
Indian company to introduce a lemon soft drink and this
drink was known as Limca and it was introduced in
1970.In the year 1977 Coca Cola left Indian market and
this brought in an opportunity for various Indian
companies to show their calibre. At this time a new soft
drink was introduced by Parle products. This drink was
introduced with a mighty saying "happy days are here
again". As if happy days went away with Coca Cola.
There was another company named Pure Drink, which
14

introduced the soft drink named Campa Cola along with

orange and lemon flavours. Just after this many more
companies entered the soft drink market. A soft drink
name double had been introduced by company Modern
bakers. Another company Mohan Meakins also came up
with a Soft drink named Mary & Punch up, McDowell
came with thrill, Push and Sprint. Previously there was
no competition in the Indian soft drink market but with
all companies coming in the Indian market a huge
competition was place with college advertisements. But
in the year 1988 Pepsi was given permission to sell its
soft drinks in the Indian market by the Government of
Indian. Coca Cola also come back in the year 1993.

GROWTH OF SOFT DRINK MARKET IN INDIA:

Today India is one of the most potential markets, with
population of around 100 crore on people; the Indian
soft drink market was only of 200 cases per year. This
was very low even compared to Pakistan and
Philippines. Population and potential market are two
major reasons for major multinational companies of
entering India. They feel that huge population coupled
with low consumption can only lead to an increase in
the soft drink market. Another increase in the sale of
soft drinks in the scorching heat and the climate of
15

India, which is suitable for a high sale of the cold drink.

All these factors together have contributed to a 30percent growth in the soft drink industry. If the demand
continues growing at the same rate, with in few years
the volume could touch 1 billion cases. All these factors
are the reasons for the entry of the soft drink market of
the world to enter the Indian market. These two giants
Pepsi &Coca Cola themselves share 96% of the soft
drink market share. Rest is shared by Cadburys
Schweppes, campa cola & Parle (Thums up & Limca).
Soft drink consist of a flavour base, sweetener and
carbonated water in general terms non-alcoholic drinks
are considered as soft drink this name soft drink was
given by Americans are against hard which is mainly
alcoholic. The major participant involves in the
production and distribution of soft drink concentrate
and syrup producers, bottlers and retail channel.
Concentrate producers manufacture basic soft drink
flavour and sell them to bottlers. Bottlers purchased
concentrate, at carbonated water and sometime
sweetener, and deliver it to the customer accounts.
Retail channel refers to business location that sells or
serves the products directly to the consumers. Soft
drink is not a product, which a person plans to buy
beforehand, but it is an impulse purchased. Lots of sale
depends upon the strength of merchandising done at
the point of sale. It all begin in 1977, a change in
government at the centre led the exit of Coca Cola
which preferred to quit rather diluting its equity to 40%
in compliance with the foreign exchange management
act (FEMA). The first national cola drink to pop up was
double seven. In the meantime, pure drinks, Delhi on
16

Coca Colas exit, switched over to Campa-Cola. The

beginning of 1980 s saw birth of another cola drink,
Gold spot launched in 1978-79,AS REFRESHING COLA
by the mid-eighties Mc Dowell and by the late eighties
there was Double Cola by the Parle group, which
entered in India market (share 33%) with its Gold Spot
and Limca brands. Later Thums up also started thums
up. At the same time threat to the Indian soft drink was
that of fruit drinks. In 1988, fruit drink market was
valued at Rs.40 crore &grew at the rate 20%. Coca
Cola-cola entered India buying up to 69% of the 18,000
crore soft drink market (i.e. Parle expert brand of
Thums up, limca, gold spot, Citra & Mazza). Today the
scene has changed making it a direct battle between
two giant Coca Cola-cola & Pepsi. The picture will
become clearer by looking at the Indian market shares
in the beverages industry.

PRESENT SCENARIO OF SOFT DRINK MARKET:

The soft drink market all over the world has been
witnessing a throat cut battle between two major
players: Coca Cola & Pepsi. The thirst quenchers are
trying hard to have the major piece of the apple of
overall carbonated soft drink market. Both the players
are
spending
energies
in
building
capacity,
infrastructure, promotional activities etc. Coca Cola,
being 11 years older than Pepsi, has been dominating
the scene in most of the soft drink market of world and
enjoying the leadership in terms of the share. But the
Coca Cola people are finding it hard to deep away
Pepsi, which has been narrowing the gaps regularly. The
17

two are posing threats for each other in every nook and
corner of the world. While Coca Cola has been earning
most of the part of its bread and butter through
beverages sales, but Pepsi has a multi-product portfolio
with a handsome portion from the same business. The
warriors are face to face once again here in India with
different strategies and tactics to attack the rival. Coca
Cola is focusing upon the joint ventures with the exiting
bottlers to enhance its control on manufacturing in
marketing of its products range and attain the equality
standards of its class. Countering it Pepsi has taken the
battle in its own hands by floating as investment of
$9.5 billon to set Pepsi Co. India holdings as a
subsidiary for company owned bottling operations
(COBOL). Both the companies are following different
path for reach the same destiny, i.e., to fetch the
bigger portion of the aerated soft drink market in India.
Both the competitors have a distinct vision and
properties about the Indian soft drink market. Though
having so much difference and distances with each
other, they both consider India a huge potential market,
as per capita consumption here is a mere three serving
annually against the world average therefore, they are
putting in their best effort to woe the India consumer
who has to work for 1.5 hour to buy a bottle soft drink
in comparison to the international norms of 5 minutes,
a major hurdle to cross over for both the athletes on
getting no.1 position. Coca Cola is well with its 53
bottling sites throughout the country giving it an edge
over competition by processing a well built and
distribution set up. On the other hand, Pepsi, with two
more years in India, has been able to set an image of
18

winner this time in India and get the pulse of Indian soft
drink market. The soft drink giants are leaving no stone
unturned. Coca Cola has been penetrating the market
through its wide product range with a determination to
change consumption pattern of soft drink in India.
Firstly, they upgraded the whole industry by introducing
300 ml bottles, which in turn had given the industry a
booming growth of 20% as compared to the earlier 5%.
They want to develop a Coca culture and are working
on a strategy to offer soft drink in every possible
package. In Coca Cola cap, the idea of competition has
not come from Pepsi, but from the other beverages
such as Tea, Coffee, Nimbu Pani, and Water etc. Pepsi is
quite aggressive in its approach to Indian consumer.
They are desperately working on the strategy to be
winners in the hot cola war between two big banners.
According to Pepsi philosophy, its the madness
encourages executive to think, to conjure up those
creative tactics to knock the fizz out there competition.
Pepsi had plumbed a large on the visibility of its blue
red and white logo. They have been going with
aggressive marketing by putting Sachin Tendulkar,
Akshay Kumar, and now Shahrukh Khan in their
advertisement to endorse their brand, the role models
for its targeted consumer, the teenagers. They have
increased the fizz in the market place by introducing
the dispensers called Fountain Pepsi and has been
enjoying a lead over its rival there.
Coca Cola on the other hand, has been working on the
saying slow and steady wins the race, side by side
retailing to every more of its competitor. They have
19

produced the shield of Thums Up with a handsome

market share in Indian soft drink market. Countering
Pepsis international commercial that used two
chimpanzees to cock a snoop at Coca Cola. Thums Up
has been positioned now very near to that young image
of Pepsi and giving it a tuff time. These cool merchants
have put everything on fire .If Coca Cola get the status
of the official drink of wills world cup, Pepsi blushed as
nothing official about it. As Thums up projected as Sare
jahan se accha, Pepsi was passionate enough with
freedom to be and now the yeh dil mange more

MARKET STATISTICS:
Cola products account for nearly 62% of the total soft
drinks market.
Two global majors Pepsi and Coke dominate the soft
drink market.
NCAER survey says 91% of soft drink in the country is
in the
lower middle and upper middle class people.
The market is worth around Rs.5000 crores with grow
th rate of around 10-15%.
The annual per capita consumption in India is only
about 6 bottles Vis-a-Vis 340 bottles in the U.S.
India's non-alcoholic drinks market is set to grow by
20% per year between now and 2015, according to a
report by The Associated Chambers of Commerce
and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM).
Consumption of soft drinks in the country currently
stands at around 175,000bn litres per annum and is
likely to surpass 350,000bn litres by 2015.
20

MAJOR PLAYERS IN THE SOFT DRINKS

SEGMENT:

COCA COLA: THANDA MATLAB COCA COLA!

Coca cola has truly remarkable heritage. From a

humble beginning in 1886 it has now become the
flagship brand of largest manufacturer, distributor of
non-alcoholic beverages in the world. In India, coca cola
was the leading soft drink till 1977 when govt. policies
necessitated its departure. Coca cola has made its
return to the country in 1993.and made significant
investment to ensure that the beverage is available to
more and more people in remote as well as inaccessible
parts of the world. Coca cola returned to India in 1993
and over the past ten years has captured the
imagination of the nation, building strong association
with cricket, the thriving cinema industry, music etc.
coca cola has been very strongly associated with
cricket, sponsoring the world cup in 1996.In 2002, coca
cola launched the campaign, Thanda Matlab coca
cola.
PEPSI: YEH DIL MAANGE MORE!

21

Pepsi cola is a carbonated beverage that is produced

and manufactured by Pepsi co. It is sold in stores,
restaurants and from vending machines. The drink was
first made in the 1890s in North Carolina. The brand
was trademarked on June 16, 1903.There have been
many Pepsi variants produced over the years.
Diet Pepsi
Crystal Pepsi
Pepsi twist
Pepsi max
Pepsi samba
Pepsi blue
Pepsi gold
Pepsi holiday spice
Pepsi jazz
Pepsi x (available in Finland & Brazil)
Pepsi next (available in Japan & South Korea)

22

THUMS UP: TASTE THE THUNDER!

Strong cola taste, exciting personality. Thums up is a

leading carbonated soft drink and most trusted brand in
India. Originally introduced in 1977, thums up was
acquired by the coca cola company in 1993.Thums up,
is, known for strong, fizzy taste and its confident,
mature and uniquely masculine attitude. This brand
clearly seeks to separate the man from the boys.

SPRITE: SPRITE BHUJAYE PYAAS BAKI SAB

BAKWAAS!

Worldwide sprite ranked as no.4 soft drink and is sold in

more than 190 countries In India, sprite was launched
in year 1999 and today it has grown to be one of the
fastest growing soft drinks, leading clear lime category.
Today sprite is perceived as a youth icon. With strong
appeal to youth sprite has stood for a straight forward
and honest attitude. Its clear crisp hingtaste
23

encourages todays youth to trust their instincts,

influence them to be true who they are and to obey
their thirst.
FANTA: GHOONTH BHAR SHARARAT KAR LEY!

Fanta entered the Indian market in year 1996 under the

coca cola brand .over the years, Fanta has occupied a
strong market place and is identified as the fun
catalyst. Fanta stands for its vibrant colour, tempting
taste and tingling bubbles that not just uplifts feelings
but also helps free spirit thus encouraging one to
indulge in the moment.

LIMCA: LIME AND LEMONI!

Limca is a drink that can cast a tangy refreshing spell

on anyone, anywhere. Born in 1971, Limca has been
the original thirst choice, of millions of consumers for
over three decades. The brand has been displaying
healthy volume growing year on year and Limca
24

continues to be leading flavouring soft drinks in the

country .Dive into the zingy refreshment of Limca and
walk away a new person.

RESEARCH DESIGN:
A research design is a framework or blueprint for
conducting the marketing research project. It specifies
the details of the procedures necessary for obtaining
the information needed to structure and/or solve
marketing research problem. On the basis of
fundamental objectives of the research we can classify
research design into two general types:
EXPLORATORY RESEARCH
CONCLUSIVE RESEARCH
Exploratory research is one type of research design,
which has its primary objective the provision of insights
into, and comprehension of, the problem situation
confronting the researcher.
Conclusive research is designed to assist the decision
maker in determining, evaluating and selecting the best
course of action to take in a given situation.
Conclusive research can be further divided into two
types:Descriptive
Experimental
25

The research design used in this project is a

DESCRIPTIVE DESIGN.
Descriptive study as the name implies is designed to
describe something-for example the characteristics of
users of a given product, the degree to which the
product use varies with income, age, etc.

SAMPLING TECHNIQUE USED:

This research has used convenience sampling
technique.
Convenience sampling technique:
Convenience sampling is used in exploratory research
where the researcher is interested in getting an
inexpensive approximation of the truth. As the name
implies, the sample is selected because they are
convenient.
SELECTION OF SAMPLE SIZE:
For the study, a sample size of 100 has been taken into
consideration. The aim was to collect 100 samples for
the analysis. The samples should be such that they are
consumers of soft drinks. I also tried to get an adequate
ratio of men and women in the samples. The main
demographics targeted were the younger age group as
26

they are one who consumes more of soft drinks. Also I

tried to focus more on the college going crowd and
young professionals. Buyers who have been consuming
soft drinks were better able to answer the questions
regarding the influencing factors and the reasons for
their consumption and purchase.
SOURCES OF DATA COLLECTION:
Research will be based on two sources:
1. Primary data
2. Secondary data
PRIMARY DATA:
Questionnaire: Primary data was collected by preparing
questionnaire and the people were randomly being
requested to fill them.

SECONDARY DATA:
Secondary data will consist of different literatures like
books which are published, articles, internet and
websites. In order to reach relevant conclusion,
research work needed to be designed in a proper way.
STATISTICAL TOOLS USED:
The main statistical tools used for the collection and
analyses of data in this project are:
Questionnaire
Pie Charts
Bar Diagrams

27

DATA ANALYSIS & FINDINGS

Q1. What do you prefer to drink? (Tick any 1)
Particulars
Soft drinks
Fruit juices
Total

No. of
respondents
57
43
100

Percentage
57%
43%
100%

Table 1.1: Drink preference

28

Series 1
60%
50%
40%
No. of Respondents

Series 1

30%
20%
10%
0%
Soft Drinks

Fruit Juices

Graph 2.1: Drink preference

ANALYSIS:
From the survey it was found that amongst
100 respondents
a) 57% of the respondents prefer Soft Drinks
to drink.
b) 43% of the respondents prefer Fruit Juices
to drink.

Q2. Frequency of consumption of your preferred drink in

a week?
Particulars
Daily
2 - 6 times

No. of
respondents
28
23

Percentage
49%
40%
29

Above 7
Total

6
57

11%
100%

Table 1.2: Frequency of consumption

60%
50%
40%
30%

No. of Respondents

Above 7

20%
10%
0%
Daily

2 - 6 times

Above 7

Weekly Consumption

Graph 2.2: Frequency of consumption

ANALYSIS:
From the survey it was found that amongst 57
respondents.
a) 49% of the respondents consume Soft Drinks daily.
b) 43% of the respondents consume Soft Drinks 2-6
times.
c) 11% of the respondents consume Soft Drinks more
than 7 times.

30

Q3. On what occasions, do you often consume the Soft

Drinks?
Particulars
Feeling thirsty
Parties /
Celebrations
Without any
reason
Others
Total

No. of
respondents
11
45

Percentage

25

25%

12
100

12%
100%

11%
45%

Table 1.3: Reason for consumption of Soft Drink

12%

18%

25%
45%

Feeling thirsty
Parties /
Celebrations
Without any reason
Others

Pie-Chart 3.1: Reason for consumption of Soft Drink

ANALYSIS:
From the survey it was found that amongst 100
respondents.

31

a) 18% of the respondents consume Soft Drinks when

they feel thirsty. b) 45% of the respondents consume
Soft Drinks at the time of
celebrations.
c) 25% of the respondents consume Soft Drinks without
any reason.
d) 12% of the respondents consume Soft Drinks on
other occasions

Q4. What induces you to buy Soft Drinks?

Particulars
Price with
quantity
Health Drink
Status Symbol
Taste
Variety
Total

No. of
Respondents
30

Percentage

4
8
32
26
100

4%
8%
32%
26%
100%

30%

Table 1.4: Reason for purchase of Soft Drink

No. of

35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%

series 1

Graph 2.3: Reason for purchase of Soft Drink

32

ANALYSIS:
From the survey it was found that amongst 100
respondents.
a) 30% of the respondents consume soft drinks
because of its price.
b) 04% of the respondents consume soft drinks
because it is a health drink.
c) 08% of the respondents consume soft drinks because
it is a status symbol.
d) 32% of the respondents consume soft drinks
because of its taste.
e) 26% of the respondents consume soft drinks
because of its variety.

Q5. If not a Soft Drink or a Fruit juice, which other

beverage (other than water) tops your mind?
Particulars
Coffee
Tea
Shakes
Lassi
Sharbat
Total

No. of
Respondents
30
25
8
12
25
100

Percentage
30%
25%
8%
12%
25%
100%

Table 1.5: Alternative to Soft Drinks

33

25%

30%

Coffee
Tea

12%

Shakes
8%

25%

Lassi
Sharbat

PieChart 3.2: Alternative to Soft Drinks

ANALYSIS:
From the survey it was found that amongst 100
respondents:
a) 30% of the respondents prefer coffee.
b) 25% of the respondents prefer tea.
c) 08% of the respondents prefer Shakes.
d) 12% of the respondents prefer Lassi.
e) 25% of the respondents prefer Sharbat.

Q6. Do advertisements affect your purchases?

Particulars
Yes
No
Total

No. of
Respondents
77
23
100

Percentage
77%
23%
100%

Table 1.6: Effect of advertisement on purchase of Soft

Drinks.

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19%

Yes
81%

No

Pie-Chart 3.3: Effect of advertisement on purchase of

Soft Drinks.

ANALYSIS:
From the survey it was found that amongst 100
respondents:
a) 77% of the respondents think that advertisements
affect their purchases.
b) 23% of the respondents think that advertisements do
not affect their purchases.

FINDINGS & ANALYSIS

1. The Coca Cola holds no. 1 position in the market with
its mother brand.
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2. Its brand Sprite too holds a good grip over the

market in comparison to main competitor 7Up.
3. Thums-Up is having major market share as compared
to Pepsi.
4. Coca Cola is giving Rs.10 discount per crate and
Pepsi is giving Rs.12 per crate.
5. People have tendency to switch over to another
brand and because of duopoly (only two players are
available in the market Pepsi and Coca Cola) the
competition is very direct.
6. The demand of Coca Cola is high in comparison to
Pepsi but because of shortage of Coca Cola and poor
distribution the retailers prefer to sell Pepsi.
7. Total sales of Coca Cola are greater than Pepsi.
If the Buying decision of consumer is rated:

1st preference will go to Taste,

2nd will go to Brand,
3rd preference will go to schemes,
4Th preference will go to Price,
5th preferences will go to Packaging.

Multinational soft drinks groups have built strong

positions in the growing Indian soft drinks market, in
spite of relatively high taxation and the setback of the
pesticide row in 2003. And with a huge amount of
untapped potential remaining, particularly in rural
markets, industry analyst believes the majors will
continue to dominate.
Market size, growth rate and overall profitability are
three economic indicators that can be used to evaluate
36

the soft drink industry. The market size of this industry

has been changing.
Soft drink consumption has a market share of 46.8%
within the non-alcoholic drink industry. Clearly, the soft
drink industry is lucrative with a potential for high
profits, but there are several obstacles to overcome in
order to capture the market share.
Three leading companies have prominent presence in
the soft drink industry. The leaders include the CocaCola Company, PepsiCo, and Cadbury Schweppes.
According to the Coca-Cola annual report (2004), it has
the most soft drink sales with $22 billion. The CocaCola product line has several popular soft drinks
including Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Fanta, and Sprite,
selling over 400 drink brands in about 200 nations.
PepsiCo is the next top competitor with soft drink sales
grossing $18 billion for the two beverage subsidiaries,
PepsiCo Beverages North America and PepsiCo
International (PepsiCo Inc., 2004). PepsiCos soft drink
product line includes Pepsi, Mountain Dew, and Slice
which make up more than one quarter of its sales.

37

CONCLUSION
Following are the concluding points taken into
consideration after the conduct of the research study:
Maximum consumption of soft drink in a week is 1-2
times.
Most of the people prefer to buy 300 ml bottle.
Most of the people consume without any occasion
(Just Like That)
The most favourable characteristic is taste, which
induces people to buy soft drink.
The most preferable alternative for soft drink is fruit
juices.
The aerated soft drinks industry in India comprises over
100 plants across all states. It provides direct and
indirect industry related employment to over 1,25,000
employees. It has attracted one of the highest foreign
direct investments in the country. It has strong forward
and backward linkages with glass, plastic, refrigeration,
sugar and transportation industry. Installed capacity of
sweetened/aerated water as on January 2006 is
reported to be 29.60 lakh tons p.a.
Indian soft drink market is valued to be Rs 6,000 crore.
The soft drink market can be broadly divided into two
major segments- carbonated soft drink and noncarbonated soft drink. The carbonated drinks are the
38

mainstay and accounts for 85% of the total soft drink

market, however the growth rate has been stagnant
and in fact on declining trend on account of
controversial issue of pesticide. Non-carbonated soft
drink category includes sub category like fruit drink,
juices, dairy drinks and more. The preparatory soft
drink market is around Rs 250 crores, out of which
Rasna has almost 90% volume share.

APPENDICES
SAMPLE QUESTIONNAIRE
Name:
Age:
Gender Male / Female
Occupation - Student / Business / Service
1. Which soft drink do you generally consume?
Coke
Pepsi
Sprite
Miranda
Other (please mention)
2. How many times do you consume a soft drink in a week?
1-2 times
2-5 times
above 5
3. On what occasions, do you often consume the Soft Drinks?
Feeling Thirsty
With meals

Parties / Celebrations
Without any reason (just like that)

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4. If not a Soft Drink, which other beverage (other than water) tops your
mind?
Hot beverages

Milk based (shakes / lassi)

Fruit juice

5. Do advertisements affect your purchases?

Yes
No
6. What quantity do you usually prefer to buy?
300 ml
500 ml bottle
1 litre
1.5 litre
7. Do brand ambassador affect your purchases?
Yes
No

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
It is indeed a great pleasure and privilege for me to
work on:
FACTORS LEADING TO GROWTH OF SOFT DRINK
INDUSTRY IN INDIA
I also extend my thanks to all those who directly
or indirectly were involved in my project completion.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beverage
www.foodindustryindia.com
http://fnbnews.com/article/detarchive.asp?
articleid=25105&sectioni =3
%20energy%20drink%20for%20the%20Indian
%20market&id=598
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 http://fnbnews.com/redfr.asp?
fn=/other/aboutus.asp&title=About
%20Us#Food&beverage
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beverage
www.foodindustryindia.com
http://www.foodindustryindia.com/newfood/detailnew
s.jsp?n=Xtazy,%20another%20energy%20drink
%20for%20the%20Indian%20market&id=598
www.google.com
Kothari C R, Research and Methodology- Methods &
Techniques

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