The Coca-Cola Company plans to increase its fruit sourcing in India for its soft drinks range.

The company currently sources around 0.2 million metric tonnes of fruit from the country and it intends to increase this figure further under its Fruit Circular Economy programme, reported Press Trust of India (PTI). 

PTI quoted The Coca Cola company as stating: "We visualise that this initiative will create a spurt in our local procurement of fruit and farm level interventions to have a positive impact on the Indian horticulture ecosystem".

The company recently appointed Asim Parekh as vice-president of Fruit Circular Economy for India and South West Asia (INSWABU) for this initiative. Parekh will be responsible for connecting the end-to-end value chain, from farmer to grocer.

"We visualise that this initiative will create a spurt in our local procurement of fruit and farm level interventions to have a positive impact on the Indian horticulture ecosystem."

His appointment follows the hiring of T Krishnakumar as president of Coca-Cola India and South West Asia two weeks before, reported LiveMint.

This business division includes markets such as India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, and the Maldives.

The Coca Cola Company has been using fruit content in some of its carbonated beverages since 2015.