Indian soft drink maker Kali Aerated Water Works' plant in Sri City in Andhra Pradesh is expected to go on stream from June, said a company official on Thursday.

"The Sri City plant will make our Bovonto soft drink mainly to cater to the Andhra Pradesh market and also the Chennai market. The total investment in the new plant is about Rs 50 crore," J. Ramesh, Joint Managing Director, told IANS.

The 103-year-old company with a turnover of about Rs 300 crore recently added a range of products - juices, aerated drinks, tender coconut water and tender coconut water-based drinks and bottled water.

The company's popular cool drinks are Bovonto and Vibro-paneer soda.

Queried about the call by the two traders' body to boycott stocking of Coca-Cola and Pepsi and the rub off effect on Bovonto, Ramesh said: "The market presence of the two foreign brands cannot be eliminated totally But the boycott call will help us to increase our market share.

"During the Jallikattu boycott call, sales of our Bovonto soft drink increased by five per cent and we are continuing to maintain that."

According to him, per day the sales of cool drinks in Tamil Nadu will be anywhere between 500,000 - 1000,000 crates (each crate will have 24 bottles).

Ramesh said the company has been supplying visi-coolers to shops based on their level of business.

"In Tamil Nadu, we have distributed about 300-500 visi-coolers to various outlets. We will increase the number to 500-750 this year," Ramesh said.

According to Ramesh, supplying visi-coolers gives about 10-15 per cent advantage to a brand.

"Nearly 75 per cent of the Tamil Nadu's cola market is dominated by Coca-Cola and Pepsi. Our market share is about 19-24 per cent," he added.

--IANS

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