SLMG Beverages flags farm contracts and cold chains as India’s beverage growth levers
Record horticulture output could improve beverage input availability, but SLMG Beverages says brands need stronger farmer contracts, aggregation and cold-chain networks to convert surplus into resilient supply. The non-alcoholic beverages market is projected to grow 7.36% annually through 2030, while local water risk remains a constraint.
What happened
Record Indian horticulture output strengthens beverage-sector input availability, but SLMG Beverages’ joint managing director argues brands must use the surplus
Key facts
- India horticulture production: 377.78 million tonnes (2025-26 Second Advance Estimates)
- Fruit output: 121.48 million tonnes, up 3.25%
- India non-alcoholic beverages market: $14.95 billion in 2024
- Projected non-alcoholic beverage market growth: 7.36% annually through 2030
- Groundwater assessment units rated safe: 73.4% in 2024 versus 62.6% in 2017
- Operation Greens covers 22 perishables
Why this matters
Prioritize partnerships or acquisitions in farm aggregation, refrigerated logistics and water-management capabilities to strengthen beverage supply security.
What to watch
- Farmer-contract announcements, FPO partnerships and capacity additions by major beverage bottlers and regional drink brands.
- Growth in cold-storage, reefer fleet, aseptic processing and fruit-pulp investments in key horticulture states.
- Fruit-pulp, sugar, packaging and refrigerated-logistics cost trends versus beverage price realization.
- State-level groundwater restrictions, drought declarations, heat-wave intensity and industrial water-allocation changes.
- Evidence that modern trade and quick-commerce platforms are increasing assortment or velocity for chilled and fresh-format beverages.
- Lock in multi-year contracts with farmer producer organizations for priority fruits, herbs and sweeteners, including quality, traceability and minimum-volume terms.
- Build or partner for aggregation, pre-cooling, aseptic pulping and concentrate capacity close to horticulture belts.
- Target cold-chain spending at high-throughput city-region routes and use ambient-stable concentrates where full refrigerated distribution is uneconomic.
- Map water exposure by plant and watershed; accelerate recycling, rainwater harvesting, alternative sourcing and production redundancy.
- Use supply assurance to expand higher-margin juice, dairy-adjacent, functional hydration and low-preservative beverage portfolios.