JAKARTA - Diet Coke is starting to be difficult to find in India. The reason is not sugar, not taste, but aluminum cans whose supply is stuck due to the Iran war.
Disadur dari Kyodo News, Jumat, 24 April yang mengutip Reuters, Diet Coke di India hanya dijual dalam kaleng. Masalah muncul karena pengiriman kaleng dari kawasan Teluk tertunda sejak blokade de facto Iran di Selat Hormuz.
The Gulf region accounts for about 9 percent of global aluminum production. When the line is disrupted, the impact ripples down to soft drink shelves.
Two Coca-Cola distributors said the company began limiting supplies or did not fulfill some orders due to a shortage of cans.
"We have ordered, but we were told there was a shortage due to the war," said Sanjay, one of the distributors.
India is an important market for Coca-Cola. The company's sales reached 50 billion rupees or around 533 million US dollars in 2024-2025, the highest since at least 2021.
Sugar-free products are also growing. Grand View Research estimates that the low-sugar food and beverage market in India will reach 4.7 billion US dollars by 2030, more than double that of 2023.
An industry executive said Diet Coke production was still going, but was rationed because demand could not be met in full. Can and bottle production in India is also becoming more expensive due to energy shortages.
In Uttar Pradesh, grocery trader Ashish Saxena said orders of Diet Coke were now delayed. Previously, goods could arrive in five to six hours.
"Now the company is pushing Coke Zero which is available in plastic bottles and the price is very reasonable compared to other products," said Saxena.
The scarcity even made it to social media. Some Instagram users uploaded memes about the difficulty of getting Diet Coke. One video shows a man running to a supermarket and buying more than a dozen cans.
Supply disruptions from the Strait of Hormuz have caused delays in the shipment of aluminum cans, which has directly impacted the distribution of Diet Coke in India.
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