Beverages maker Coca-Cola‘s India unit stepped up availability of its products to over 3 lakh stores in the quarter ended March 31, 2023, driving approximately 3 billion transactions at affordable price points, the US-based company said in its global earnings statement on Monday. The maker of Coke and Thums Up drinks also added 40,000 coolers in the quarter ahead of the summer season, the company noted in its earnings release.

The soft drinks company said growth in developing and emerging markets was led by China, India and Brazil. India is the beverage maker’s fifth largest market.

Coca-Cola chairman James Quincey called out India’s economy as “resilient with a strong job market and robust consumption.” Quincey said affordability, driven by single-serve and at-home entry packs, helped in driving approximately 3 billion transactions in India.

The company attributed growth of its India business to higher number of retailers, investments made in cold-drink equipment and pricing. It said it increased household penetration through targeted promotions on large packages for the at-home channel, adding that “in close alignment with its bottling partners, it continues to raise the bar in India in integrated execution.”

Within the Asia-Pacific region, Coca-Cola said its unit case volumes grew 10 per cent led by China, India and Australia.

On its company-owned bottling network, Coca-Cola said, “Unit case volume declined 1 per cent, primarily driven by the impact of refranchising bottling operations, partially offset by strong growth in India.”