Soft drink market to grow 30% per annum

Soft drink market which is one of the largest segments in the food sector at Rs 65,000 crore is poised to grow at the rate of 28-30 per cent for 30 years, an industry official said to PTI.

According to Dhirendra Singh, CMD, Manpasand Beverages, “ the demand for fruit drinks and packaged juice products has increased dramatically during the last ten years, while the overall market size of the soft drink market stands at a whopping Rs 65,000 crore.”

While the juice or fruit drink segment stands at Rs 8,000 crore while the carbonated drinks segment is worth Rs 25,000 crore. Bottled water and other drinks make up the rest of the market.

“As per our estimates, this industry is growing at a rate of 28 per cent to 30 per cent annually and will maintain that pace for 30 years," added Singh.

The official was here to announce Manpasand Beverages' Rs 400-crore initial public offering (IPO) which will hit markets on June 24 to raise up to Rs 400 crore, to fund its expansion plans, including a new manufacturing unit in Ambala in Haryana. The IPO will close on June 26, he said.

Despite the seemingly large size of India's soft drink market, he claimed that the nation lags behind not only Western countries, but also Pakistan.

"As per a report, India's per capita consumption of soft drinks is three litres, while it is almost 90 litres in USA and 16 litres in Pakistan. In a country of more than 120 crore people, if consumption increases from three litres to six litres, I am sure that no company can fulfil that demand. Such is the potential size of our market," Singh said.