Tamil Nadu boycott to cost cola firms Rs 14,000 crore

Chennai: Thousands of shops across Tamil Nadu began a boycott of Coca-Cola and Pepsi from Wednesday morning to boost local manufacturers. A prolonged boycott could cause a loss of Rs 1,400 crore to the soft drink majors.

Echoing their protest against selling drinks from the foreign majors and supporting the ban called for by common people, many retailers and wholesalers have stopped procuring and supplying the colas.

“The demand from the masses has come down. I have seen kids asking their parents to not buy Coke, go for homegrown brands,” trader V.P. Mani said.