Coca-Cola plans to enter Indian dairy market with ‘Vio’

Beverage maker Coca-Cola is planning to enter the dairy business in India with the introduction of i…

Beverage maker Coca-Cola is planning to enter the dairy business in India with the introduction of its milk-based beverage brand named Vio.

The drink will be a non-carbonated, milk-based beverage.

A Coca-Cola official was quoted by The Economic Times as saying: "The rollout could happen as early as January next year or by next quarter at the most. The front-end and back-end are being fine-tuned."

In order to roll out the milk-based drink, Coca-Cola is partnering with Schreiber Dynamix Dairies. The company is planning to launch bottled Vio in local flavours in the first phase.

"We already have an offering in the dairy space -- Maaza Milky Delite -- which has a presence in select markets. Vio is a global brand and is, therefore, an option available to us. It is too early for us to comment on a possible launch of this brand in India," the official told The Economic Times.

Introduced in 2009, Vio comes is a skimmed milk product with flavours such as peach, berry and citrus. It claims to be preservative-free.

Earlier this year, Coca-Cola announced its plan to launch Fuze tea brand in India. Its range includes a fusion of tea with fruit flavours and other natural ingredients to give a fresh, all-natural taste.

Late last year, the company introduced Fairlife in the US, through a joint venture with the dairy farmers. The drink is made using the proprietary milk filtering process.