Coca-Cola India Ready To Expand Into Alcohol Market With Lemon-Dou

In India, it is not usual for big industrial names to jump into the pool of alcoholic beverages. To expand their drinks line, the most they release is variations of iced tea or in the case of Coca-Cola, ready-to-drink tea beverages segment like “Honest Tea.” In November 2023, the American multinational corporation signed an MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) with Kolkata-based Luxmi Tea Co Private Ltd's Makaibari Tea Estate to provide customers with a wider beverage option. Now, Coca-Cola India is again making headlines as it enters the alcohol market for the first time. As per a report on Mint, Coca-Cola India has started a pilot test of their global alcoholic, ready-to-drink beverage, Lemon-Dou, only in a “few states” in India.

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Coca-Cola's Alcoholic Beverage Lemon-Dou Is Available In Goa And Maharashtra 

As per an Economic Times report, Coca-Cola's global alcoholic beverage, Lemon-Dou, is initially being pilot-tested in Goa and Maharashtra. Describing its ingredients, the company's website wrote, “Lemon-Dou is made from crushed whole lemons, infused in alcohol, mixed with bubbles – a refreshing, full-bodied chu-hi alcoholic lemon drink." As of now, the company has priced their alcoholic beverage at ₹150 in Goa and ₹230 in Maharashtra.
A spokesperson for Coca-Cola India told to Economic Times that Lemon-Dou is a “mix of Shochu, a distilled liquor similar to brandy and vodka, and lime.” Lemon-Dou, Coca-Cola's inaugural lemon sour brand, was created in 2018 in response to the increasing demands among lemon sour enthusiasts to enjoy the genuine flavour of Lemon Sour not only at bars but also in the comfort of their homes, as stated on the official website.

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Speaking about the development of the product, the company's spokesperson told the Economic Times, "The preparation and distribution of these beverages is done separately in dedicated and independent facilities in India, which are different from the facilities that prepare and distribute its non-alcoholic, ready-to-drink (NARTD) beverages."
Other than India, Coca-Cola's Lemon-Dou is available in other Asian countries like Japan, China and the Philippines. India's largest soft drinks company, Coca-Cola is famous for selling fizzy drinks like Coke, Fanta, Thums Up, and Limca, aside from Minute-Maid juices and Maaza. The company has also expanded into mineral drinking water – Kinley and coffee brands – Costa and Georgia.