Buoyed by the enthusiastic reception for its products, the company is planning to go full steam by installing tender-coconut water vending machines all over the country. Miracle Foods managing director P P Ahammed Kutty says the sales of packaged tender-coconut water has increased by over 100 per cent during the last two months following the Coke controversy, taking the monthly sales figures to Rs 12 lakh.

So far 50 tender-coconut water vending machines have been installed in Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad, besides various places in Kerala. They have been installed in the Food World chain in hospitals, including one at the PVS Hospital, Kozhikode. Kutty says the company is planning to install 3,000 tender-coconut water vending machines all over India in the next three years.

The company''s packaged tender coconut water has got a warm reception in the United Arab Emirates and other Gulf countries. Kutty says vending machines will be installed at the holy places of Mecca and Madina before the commencement of this year''s Haj pilgrimage. The company is already exporting products worth Rs 6 lakh per month to Gulf countries.

Sparkling Elaneer is priced at Rs 20 for 500ml bottle, Rs 15 (200ml) and Rs 12 for 250ml pouches. With the installation of the dispensing machines it will be possible to make available tender-coconut water at Rs 5 per glass as the vending machines will help save the cost of packaging. Kutty says his company will be able to process 1.5-lakh tender-coconuts daily.

This means the coconut farmers in the nearby areas can have an assured price of Rs 5.50 per coconut. Already the company is procuring 50,000 tender-coconuts daily from nearby small-scale farmers. Kutty says the company has plans to open Elaneer parlours in the metros, apart from encouraging entrepreneurs to install coconut water vending machines as it is a promising self-employment opportunity.

Started in 1996 at Perinthalmanna in a tie-up with Germany-based Winter-Umwelttechnik, Miracle Food Processors was the first in the country to manufacture coconut water concentrate using spray evaporation and reverse osmosis technology.

Utilising the technology, the coconut water could be preserved in a concentrate form without altering its taste, colour and flavour and could be used later as tender-coconut water just by adding water into it. The company also has plans to start a joint venture manufacturing facility in Sri Lanka apart from starting new plants at Thiruvananthapuram and Kasargod.

Kutty says the recent business enquiry he got from the US soft drink giant Tropicana for manufacturing a sports drink based on tender-coconut water has been kept in abeyance due to limitations in processing capacity. "The American firm had a requirement of 6,000 tonnes of processed coconut water per year that will need 10 lakh tender coconuts, which is difficult to procure from the state."