Business Wire India

Mr. T. Krishnakumar, President, Coca-Cola India and South West Asia, and Mr. Dinesh Kumar Tyagi, CEO, CSC SPV ink MoU to boost outreach in rural India

• Pilot phase to list Coca-Cola’s products on CSC’s Grameen eStore platform for key markets in AP&T, UP and Haryana

• Enable availability of affordable, essential hydration to rural communities through Village Level Entrepreneurs

To promote availability of consumer products at doorsteps in rural India through local entrepreneurs and e-kirana stores, Common Services Centers under the aegis of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, today announced partnership with Coca-Cola India to list Coca Cola products on its Grameen eStore platform.

The partnership will make available affordable essential hydration through CSC’s Grameen eStore platform. In the pilot phase, Coca-Cola’s portfolio of products will be listed on Grameen eStore across the states of Andhra Pradesh & Telengana, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.

CSC and Coca-Cola’s partnership serves the dual purpose of providing last mile connectivity of essential and affordable hydration to citizens’ doorsteps, as well as promoting rural entrepreneurship and building livelihoods by mapping supply points to Village Level Entrepreneurs (VLEs).

Elaborating on the rural e-commerce platform of CSC, Dr. Dinesh Tyagi – CEO, CSC SPV said, “The idea for Grameen e-Store exemplifies Prime Minister’s call for being vocal for local. Through this initiative, VLEs are playing a critical role in connecting producers and companies with the rural consumers right at their doorsteps. The partnership with Coca Cola will allow the stores to diversify their offerings while providing customers access to new products. It will be a win-win proposition.”

Announcing the association, T. Krishnakumar - President, Coca-Cola India and Southwest Asia said, “We are privileged to partner with CSC in their effort to pave the path for digital and economic empowerment of our rural citizens. This initiative will help us with last mile connectivity to ensure people are hydrated and have their relevant choice of beverages. It underscores our long-term commitment towards creating a sustainable business in India through responsible actions and shared growth.”

“We are a ‘Total Beverage Company with Local Roots’ and we have adopted a hyperlocal strategy focused on strengthening the regional connect, both in terms of choice and reach. On one hand, while we have been advancing beverage localisation and developing an ethnic beverage portfolio to suit various regions and palates, on the other, we are adapting to the ‘new normal’ and using the merits of its agility, to enhance last mile delivery of relevant beverage choice for our consumers.” he added.

About Common Services Centers

Common Services Centers (CSCs) Scheme is one of key enablers of the Digital India program. CSCs are the access points for e-delivery of G2C, education, healthcare, agriculture and financial services to villages in India, thereby contributing to a digitally and financially inclusive society. CSCs are more than just service delivery points in rural India. They are positioned as change agents, promoting rural entrepreneurship and building rural capacities and livelihoods. It is a pan-India network catering to regional, geographic, linguistic and cultural diversity of the country, thus enabling the Government’s mandate of a socially, financially and digitally inclusive society.

CSC Grameen eStore is a hyper-local e-commerce platform. The eStore is available as a mobile app on Google Play Store. Citizens can download the app to order provisions from their nearest CSC.

About Coca-Cola India

Coca-Cola in India is one of the country’s leading beverage companies, offering a range of healthy, safe, high quality, refreshing beverage options to consumers. Since its re-entry in 1993, the company has been refreshing consumers with its beverage products – Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola Zero, Diet Coke, Thums Up, Thums Up Charged, Thums Up Charged No Sugar, Fanta, Limca, Sprite, Sprite Zero, Maaza, VIO flavoured milk, Minute Maid range of juices, Minute Maid Smoothie and Minute Maid Vitingo, Georgia range of hot and cold tea and coffee options, Aquarius and Aquarius Glucocharge, Schweppes, smartwater, Kinley and Bonaqua packaged drinking water and Kinley Club Soda. The Company along with its owned bottling operation and other bottling partners, through a strong network of over 2.6 million retail outlets, touches the lives of millions of consumers, at a rate of more than 500 servings per second. Its brands are some of the most preferred and most sold beverages in the country – Thums Up and Sprite – being the top two selling sparkling beverage.

The Coca-Cola India system provides direct employment to 25,000 people and indirect employment to more than 150,000 people. The Coca-Cola system in India is contributing in its own small way to building sustainable communities through community initiatives like Support My School, VEER, Parivartan and Unnati and by reducing its own environmental footprint.

For further information on the company's India operations and its products, please visit: www.coca-colaindia.com. Follow us on twitter at twitter.com/CocaCola_Ind, or on Facebook.