the weekend review
PEPSI TO LAUNCH FIZZY DRINKS UNDER THE SLICE BRAND
Pepsico Inc. is bringing back Slice in its original form as an aerated drink with 10% real fruit juice, just as it first introduced the product in the US in 1984.
Slice, which was discontinued in the US in 2000s, now sells only in India, as a mango juice.
In its new avatar, Slice will come with a few twists—more fruit content, less calorie and with new flavours, some of which are ethnic Indian. To be sure, this is the first category extension for Slice that Pepsico India Holdings Pvt. Ltd launched in India as a mango drink in 1993.
The new range of Slice, Pepsico India said in a statement, is “fruit juice drink with fizz” that will include both “ethnic favourites like jeera, guava chili and mainstream flavours like apple, lemon, orange and clear lime”.
INDIA’S MACRO DATA SIGNALS AN ECONOMIC TURNAROUND
India’s factory output grew at a robust pace for the third straight month, at 7.5% in January, while retail inflation surprisingly slowed for the second consecutive month to 4.4% in February, signalling that the economy may be set on a strong recovery path. In December, the index of industrial production (IIP) grew 7.1%, while consumer price index (Cpi)-based inflation had slowed to 5.1% in January.
AMAZON PRIME VIDEO LOOKING TO EXPAND REGIONAL CONTENT
Amazon.com Inc’s video service will look to add more regional content in India, two company executives said, as it competes with a host of global and local players for a bigger share of a fledgling online streaming mar- ket. In little after a year of its launch in India, Amazon’s bet on original Hindi shows and a library of films in five local languages has paid off — India is the fastest growing market for its Prime Video service, Tim Leslie, global vice-president at Amazon Prime Video, told Reuters in an interview late Saturday, on the sidelines of the India Today Concalve 2018 in Mumbai.
CRAFT BEER BRAND WHITE RHINO SETS SIGHTS ON UK MARKET
About 18 months after Ishaan Puri founded White Rhino Brew- ing Co., the New Delhi-based firm is set to take its craft beer White Rhino to the UK — one of world’s most mature beer markets.
“UK is a mature market for good quality craft beers. We have undergone a massive market study, testing before deciding to enter the UK market. We will have limited presence across selected pubs in London, Manchester and Leeds,” said Puri, founder and director, White Rhino Brewing Co.
INDIA WILL RETURN TO 7.5% GROWTH IN TWO YEARS: WORLD BANK
The World Bank on Wednesday said while India’s growth rate will return to 7.5% in two years’ time, to sustain an 8% growth rate, India requires a decisive structural reform momentum that succeeds in stimulating investment and export growth while maintaining macroeconomic stability.
Based on the fiscal third-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) data, the full year’s growth has been raised to 6.6%. The World Bank has projected economic growth to accelerate to 7.3% in 2018-19 and 7.5% in 2019-20.