Beverage major Coca-Cola India is looking to exit bottling business in India to focus on its core business, The Economic Times reported.

“The objective is to move away from the capital intensive, low margin business of bottling over a period of time, (and) to accelerate focus on its concentrate business,” officials aware of the development were quoted by the paper.

The unnamed officials said the firm has begun talks with its existing independent franchise bottlers for the divestment of its bottling plants.

The transactions, when they materialise, are likely to happen in phases to the existing bottling partners individually, and over the long term, the people cited above added.

Coca-Cola India's HCCB has 18 plants and contributes two-thirds of the firm's volumes.