Local brands to be promoted after Cola, PepsiCo ban in Kerala
Local brands to be promoted after Cola, PepsiCo ban in Kerala

Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, world’s two biggest cola brands are facing challenges over water security in Southern India.

After Tamil Nadu boycotted Coca-Cola Co. and PepsiCo Inc. beverages, shopkeepers in drought-hit Kerala state, decided to promote local brands over the multinational drinks.

Retail groups have claimed that the soft drinks firms take too much water from rivers and selling products adulterated with pesticides. However, academics and analysts say these firms have become scapegoats for a water crisis that’s become mired in politics and patriotism.

Drinks from Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, having a 96 percent hold on India’s $4.9 billion soda market will be kept off the shelves of more than 1 million shops after the ban.

India is one of the most water-challenged nations, and fights over water have erupted between users periodically for decades. Failed monsoon rains over as many as the past three years in some states have parched rivers and dams, forcing farmers, manufacturers and municipal water suppliers to rely more on wells to meet their needs. Problem is, those too are drying up, and that’s hurting farmers, India’s economic mainstay.

P.L. Beena, an associate professor with the Centre for Development Studies in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala said, "The root cause for the boycott isn't the multinational companies, but the enduring fight between industrial users and farmers, especially in several drought-hit states."

Beena further added, "On top of that, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call to companies to 'make in India' has given rise to a pro-India push and, in some cases, an anti-foreigner backlash -- that's supporting local brands. With Modi at the center, many activist groups and political parties are taking their agenda to the street more strongly than they have in the past instances."

 
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