Beverage giant Coca Cola may be looking to expand its line of drinks to include carbonated fruit juice products with 20 percent real juice content developed by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research unit, the Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI). The carbonated fruit juice products based on grape, apple and pomegranate that piqued Coca Cola's interest has a four-month shelf life and is replete with health benefits that have strong potentials in the wellness and healthy options market.
Director Ram Rajasekharan relays in relation to the recently launched drink: "Coca Cola officials were here. They have expressed interest and taken the samples."
This CFTRI unit in Mysuru, which was developed by the country's Union Minister for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, is a test arm for more replication units, which will work with SHGs and farmers' cooperatives in other regions. The CFTRI is equipped with integrated sugarcane juice processing and bottling.
This is a victory in no small amount given that the previous year saw Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi making a case for farmers to be able to offload their produce to multinational beverage makers as the Coca Cola Company and Pepsi by appealing a 5 percent infusion of real juice into their soda drinks.
Rajasekharan recalls: "We took up after that. We held meetings with the beverage companies. They said adding five per cent too will affect the product. We have shown that 20 per cent is good and the juice is tasty,"
Interestingly, a move toward this wellness line of drinks will take Coke back to its beginnings, which is as a health drink that has medicinal benefits. During the years when nutrients from mineral water were believed to treat scurvy, gallstones and a whole gamut of other sicknesses, Dr. John Pemberton invented Coca-Cola in his backyard in 1886.
