Cola brands, particularly Coke and Pepsi, are popular in many rural and semi-rural areas in India. Sanjeev Saini, who resides in a rural place in Haryana, said, “With this initiative taken by Coke, we are going to consume more of Coke, if it is cheaper, as there is not much difference between the two in terms of their taste”.

Syed Bukhari, who has travelled in many parts of the country due to his professional work, said, “Pepsi is available in the remotest of places in India, but the same cannot be said about Coke”. Some retailers have even complained that distributors of Coke are not up to the mark. No wonder, retailers do not keep Coke in their shops as compared to Pepsi.

The sale of cold drinks all over the country shoots up during summers owing to the hot weather. Shuchi Jain, who drinks Coca Cola to beat the summer heat does not agree with Saini’s view and says, “Coca Cola is sweeter then Pepsi, which is more over like soda and has more gas”. So for people like Shuchi, it does not matter whether the prices fluctuates - if it increases too, she will stick to Coca Cola for its sheer taste.  

The last time Coke introduced new bottles at Rs 5, it was not profitable to them. Pepsi had also followed suit, but later both of them had to withdraw their price reduction scheme. So the million-dollar question is - will Pepsi again reduce its price to compete with Coca Cola?