Mr Jain told The Financial Express that the soft drink major would look at the southern market through a ``twin-strategy''-drinking and drink. The company would concentrate on increasing the consumer-base by adding fresh users besides leveraging on the existing customer-base, towards improving the consumption level, he said. ``Currently, we are not into a share game; our focus is on consumption-drive,'' he added.

To this end, Coca-Cola has recently launched a campaign -- World of Coca-Cola -- in Chennai, Bangalore and Mysore. ``We have plans to replicate this programme in all the metros and mini cities,'' Mr Jain said.

With the introduction of the World of Coca-Cola campaign, many outlets in Bangalore reported a 30 per cent increase in sales, he said. ``Over 12,000 cards were redeemed in Bangalore alone while in Chennai and Mysore the campaign caught on quite well,'' he said.

On the global beverage consumption trend, Mr Jain said India's soft beverage consumption per year was only three bottles against Thailand's 80, Philippines 150 and the US' 400.

According to him, in South India, over 90 per cent of the soft drink market was under the organised sector where Coca-Colaand Pepsi fought a neck-to-neck battle. However, nationally Coca-Cola has a market share of 57 per cent.

``We are growing at double digit in Karnataka against single digit in Tamil Nadu and Kerala,'' he said.

Coca-Cola entered India in the mid-'50s. The company, along with other multinational firms, was thrown out by the then Janata Dal government in 1977. The brand re-entered the market in 1997 through Brindavan Bottlers and in 1998, set up its own bottling plants at an investment of Rs 100 crore. Coca-Cola's Bidadi (near Bangalore) plant-the largest in the country- along with its Palghat and Chennai facilities produced beverage worth Rs 300 crore a year. The company has over 40 such plants across the country.In the south, the brand was looking at a 14 per cent growth by the end of the calender (January-December) he said.

Mr Jain said the emergence of the drinking water market had eaten away a considerable share of the soft drink market. ``People used to consider soft drink as a safe medium of water.

But now with portable water being easily accessible, the soft drink segment is adversely hit,'' he said.