Why companies hike Diet Coke prices, not cold drink rates?:US-Iran war led disruptions cause aluminium can shortage in India

Diet Coke has become more expensive for consumers in India. The price per millilitre of the drink has increased by roughly 13.6%, according to the news agency, Reuters. Beverage giant Coca-Cola has been forced to adjust its prices and packaging after the war in theWest Asia disrupted global aluminium supplies and shipping routes. Before the escalation of the conflict, Indian consumers paid ₹40 for a standard 300 ml aluminium can of Diet Coke. This worked out to about ₹0.13 per millilitre. Currently, due to a severe shortage of standard 300 ml domestic cans, Coca-Cola has shifted to importing larger 330 ml cans. These new cans are sold at a retail price of ₹50 each. Although the larger size means you get slightly more liquid, calculating the cost per millilitre reveals a 13.6% price increase (rising from ₹0.13 to ₹0.15 per ml). To prevent empty shelves, some local Indian bottlers have also temporarily introduced small 200 ml glass bottles at premium rates. Why have prices gone up? Shipping Route Disruptions: The ongoing conflict involving Iran disrupted commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. This key sea passage is heavily used to transport metals and raw packaging materials into India. As ships were forced to take longer routes, freight rates and transit times spiked. Pricier Alternative Imports: To keep Diet Coke in stock, Coca-Cola began importing pre-made 330 ml cans from alternative manufacturing plants in Southeast Asia. Transporting pre-formed metal cans across borders is far more expensive than using locally made ones. Why companies didn’t hike cold drink prices? While Regular Coke and Coke Zero are widely sold across India in cheap plastic bottles and glass bottles, Diet Coke is packaged almost exclusively in aluminium cans. Because it lacks a large plastic-bottle alternative in the Indian market, Diet Coke was hit much harder by metal shortages than other soft drinks.