Billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led conglomerate Reliance Industries’ nascent FMCG business plans to scale up its recently acquired legacy soft drink brand Campa Cola globally, starting with the rest of Asia and then Africa, as it takes on category leaders Coca-Cola and PepsiCo.
Reliance Consumer Products, the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) arm of Reliance Retail Ventures Limited, had acquired Campa Cola from Pure Drinks Group in August 2022 for Rs 22 crore. In March 2023, it had relaunched Campa Cola in three new variants, making the brand available first in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, and rolled out across the country in stages.
“A key pillar of our FMCG business is to make heritage Indian brands contemporary for today’s Indian consumers, keeping the age-old brand promise intact. We have acquired and partnered with several such brands like Campa Cola, Sosyo and Lotus (Chocolates). Consumers have embraced it (Campa) wholeheartedly. We are scaling it up further in India and have also started work to take it global starting with Asia and then Africa,” said Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd (RRVL) Director Isha Ambani in her address at the 46th AGM of Reliance Industries on Monday.
Delhi-based Pure Drinks Group, which introduced Coca Cola to India in 1949, launched its own soft drink ‘Campa Cola’ in India in the 1970s. The group was the only manufacturer and distributor of Coke till 1977, when the American soft drink brand was asked to leave India. This left the field open for Campa Cola to dominate the Indian market for the next 15 years without any foreign competition until the early 1990s saw the return of foreign brands to India. Campa Cola’s popularity faded and it scaled back operations amid stiff foreign competition.
At last year’s AGM, Isha Ambani announced the retail arm’s foray into India’s more than $100 billion FMCG market which is dominated by MNC giants such as HUL, Reckitt, P&G, Nestle as well as home-grown companies such as Adani Wilmar, Dabur, ITC and Marico. Reliance Consumer Products has since also rolled out their own FMCG brand ‘Independence’ of affordable products across edible oils, pulses, grains, packaged foods and other daily need products.
Reliance Retail Ventures, through its subsidiaries and affiliates, operates 18,040 stores through which it sells grocery, electronics, apparel, pharmacy, lingerie, home and furnishing, beauty and personal care. RRVL also operates omnichannel businesses through Jio Mart, Ajio, Netmeds, Zivame and other online channels.
“We opened 3,300+ new (RRVL) stores last year, taking the total to 18,040, covering 6.56 cr sq.ft. Two-thirds of these stores are in Tier II, III and smaller towns, which is a testament to commitment of making retail inclusive,” said Isha Ambani at the AGM on Monday.