Coca-Cola India uses solar power to sell sodas in rural markets

Coca-Cola India uses solar power to sell sodas in rural marketsLet’s say you’re walking down a rural street in India, stewing in the hot summer air, and you’re thinking, “A Coke sure would be nice right now.”

Then you come upon—far from the grid—a chest full of ice-cold sodas at the nearest market. It’s possible, thanks to the new solar-powered eKOCool developed by Coca-Cola India to help boost sales in rural markets and places with limited access to power.

Twenty of the coolers, which were designed by the Indian arm of U.S.-based Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO), are being piloted in rural regions of Agra. But they could soon see wider adoption. It plans to expand the test to 100 coolers by the end of the summer.

"The rural markets pose challenges in expansion as a huge swathe of the rural belt is not yet covered by the power grid and hence remains without electricity or has low power,” Asim Parekh, vice president of technical at Coca-Cola India, told The Times of India. “This challenge has been overcome by Coca-Cola's innovation, which will give us a competitive edge as well as a first mover advantage. Seeing its success, some African countries have placed orders for the solar cooler.”

The company could expand the devices into more markets, like parks without power. They’d also be ideal for temporary events, like festivals.

“We are exploring opportunities to expand the use of solar coolers at strategic events and in certain markets while also working to identify strategic areas of focus for innovation to improve the performance and cost relationship,” said Coca-Cola spokesperson Lisa Manley.

The devices are capable of chilling 48 of Coca-Cola’s line of beverages at a time, which can be cooled down within a matter of hours. The coolers also feature the ability to charge phones or electric lanterns.

Sales from outlets with the coolers have jumped nearly five times, a company official told The Times of India.