CHENNAI: Coca-Cola officials visited the temple town of Madurai this weekend for a meeting between manufacturers of the drink and directors and senior officials of the company from four southern Indian states. They said the company was "trying to evolve a new strategy that would make its soft drink more affordable to people in India". The company already has investments worth $80 million in Tamil Nadu. The $10 million will be an additional investment. The company claims to have a billion dollar investment in the subcontinent. It will also focus attention on community development, water resource management, education and primary healthcare, senior officials promised. The officials visited all their retail and small shop outlets in the southern district and the Madurai-Meenakshi temple. A team of Coca-Cola officials, led by Patrick Stewart, group president of the company for East and South Asia, called on Chief Minister J. Jayalalitha at the Secretariat Monday. The chief minister sought the MNC's marketing expertise to market produce from women's self-help groups (SHGs) in the southern state. The officials promised they would explore the possibilities of marketing SHG products through their retail outlets. The Coca-Cola team included Alex Von Bher, president and CEO, India, and Sanjay Gupta, vice-president, India.
Source: IANS