New Delhi, Sept. 5: Amul is expanding its alternative beverage portfolio as consumers are moving away from fizzy drinks to health drinks.

Amul will launch Amul Kool Koko, a chocolate flavoured milk, tomorrow.

R.S. Sodhi, chief general manager of Amul, said, “Our expansion in the milk-based beverage segment is a direct fall-out of the stagnation that carbonated drinks face in the market. We will continue to expand aggressively in this segment.”

Amul is going to launch a variety of beverages in the next couple of months, including yogurt-based drinks in flavours such as rose, lassi in elaichi and kesar.

On Amul Kool Koko, Sodhi said: “We are the first to launch a chocolate-based drink in India. Chocolate drinks are favoured in most parts of the world.”

Amul expects to sell 60,000 units of Amul Kool Koko (200ml) in the first three months.

K.M. Jhala, general manager of Amul, said, “We entered the milk beverage market around four years ago with Amul Kool. Our latest addition to this portfolio is Amul Kool Koko.”

Other products in this category are Amul masti, a buttermilk, Amul lassi and Amul Kool Café, a coffee-based drink. The company also has an energy drink called Stamina.

“We are expanding this portfolio as people are moving away from fizzy drinks to the non-carbonated category for health reasons.”

Amul Kool Koko is made from pure milk and cocoa solids and targets teenagers and young people. The drink is priced at Rs 15 for 200ml and comes in a bottle or a tetra pack, a 250ml can for Rs 20 and a one-litre tetra pack for Rs 50.

Amul will have counters near schools and colleges and their canteens, BPOs and high traffic areas. Amul is planning to launch Kool Koko in a television musical programme.

Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd is growing at a rate of 70 per cent in the beverages market but has a mere 10 per cent share in the branded non-carbonated drinks segment.

The Indian soft drinks market is worth about Rs 7,000 crore annually. Carbonated soft drinks account for 85 per cent, but the segment has seen its growth stagnate or even decline in the last few years.