Coca-Cola India has expanded its Minute Maid Pulpy lineup with the addition of Santra (orange), which features the juice of oranges grown in the Indian states of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.

This launch follows introduction of the Minute Maid Pulpy Mosambi (sweet lemon) variant in June this year.

Minute Maid Pulpy Santra launch is reported to be in line with the Coca-Cola System in India, which focuses on creating a virtuous fruit-circular economy.

Coca-Cola India and Southwest Asia president Krishnakumar said: “Currently, our beverages are sold in more than 26 lakh outlets in India. Our aim is to leverage this pervasive distribution for our juice-based drinks so that consumers get easy access to them.

"Minute Maid Pulpy Santra launch is reported to be in line with the Coca-Cola System in India, which focuses on creating a virtuous fruit-circular economy."

“Our commitments to create demands for locally grown fruit-based beverages and invest in the agricultural ecosystem are the cornerstones of a virtuous fruit circular economy. We recently launched Minute Maid Pulpy Mosambi containing fruit juice from the locally-grown Mosambis.”

The Coca-Cola Company India and its bottling operations unit Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages are working with fruit suppliers, processors, and farmers to ensure they are trained on new ways of practising horticulture. This will help realise the Indian Prime Minister’s vision of doubling farmers’ income by 2022.

The company has already announced that it intends to invest more than $1.7bn in the Indian fruit circular economy over the next five years. Nearly $900m of this investment will be contributed towards the procurement of processed fruit pulp and fruit concentrate, while the remaining would be invested towards infrastructure including manufacturing lines, juice bottling infrastructure, fruit processing plants, and equipment.

Image: Locally-grown Santra (Orange) from Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. Photo: courtesy of The Coca-Cola Company.