* SLMG weighs selective price raises

* Coca-Cola bottler plans new plants

* Targets growth in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar

By Praveen Paramasivam

March 23 (Reuters) - SLMG Beverages, Coca-Cola's

largest bottler in India, could raise some of its prices if

rising packaging costs linked to the war in the Middle East are

difficult to absorb, a senior executive at the firm said.

The war is pushing up costs for key packaging materials from

plastic bottles to caps, labels and cardboard boxes - with some

packaged water manufacturers already raising prices.

"If the war continues, the packaging material cost may

continue to move up," Rahul Kumar, deputy CEO at SLMG said in an

interview earlier this month, adding price increases would

depend on factors including how competitors respond and how

consumers react to higher prices.

The cost pressure comes after billionaire Mukesh Ambani's

Reliance Industries revived a historic local cola

brand, Campa, in 2023, tapping its vast retail network and a

nationalist sentiment to ignite a price war.

There is limited room to raise prices in the highly

competitive soda market, which includes several national and

local players, Kumar said, adding there has not been a

portfolio-wide price increase in the past 7-8 years.

He said SLMG will review prices in April.

SLMG RAMPS UP CAPACITY

Competition will boost India's soft drink market by bringing

in new consumers, according to Kumar. Redseer Strategy

Consultants estimates the country's non-alcoholic ready-to-drink

beverages market could double to roughly $40 billion by 2030.

To tap the growth, SLMG - which accounts for more than 22%

of Coca-Cola's India volumes - plans to invest between 10

billion rupees ($106.58 million) and 12 billion rupees in each

of four new plants it plans to build over five years.

The bottler's sales climbed 49% to 67.73 billion rupees in

fiscal year 2025, with net profit jumping 76% to 2.06 billion

rupees, according to company database Tofler.

SLMG is now targeting net revenue of 100 billion rupees in

2026-27, as it expands in populous but lower-income Indian

states such as Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, counting on low starting

consumption levels and rising incomes to drive greater demand

for its products there.

($1 = 93.8275 Indian rupees)