Coke's unwanted child goes global

As Thums Up nears Coca Cola's avowed goal of becoming a billion dollar brand, the company is now preparing to take it global, with imminent launch in South Asian countries.
The brand, which has had a tumultuous history, is India's largest selling cola with a 42 per cent market share among cola brands and 15 per cent share in the aerated drinks market.

Launched in 1977 by brothers Ramesh and Prakash Chauhan, it quickly captured the vacancy left by Coca Cola's exit following the threat of nationalisation by the then government. Its slogan, Happy Days Are Here Again, intended to signify both the end of the Emergency and the availability of a cola brand in India.
Its advertisements and TV commercials also set a trend. While in the 1980s it was among the first to use celebrity cricketers like Sunil Gavaskar and Imran Khan in its print campaigns, it also introduced bungee jumping to Indians through a 1996 TV commercial - which was the first advertisement to carry a disclaimer.

It was one of the few brands that simultaneously catered to both the rustic market and the urbane, elitist audience in cities.
The brand name came about because of two reasons - one, FMCG companies in India are not permitted to use dictionary words as a product name, which led to the dropping of the letter 'b', and two, it was easier to fit the word Thums Up on the bottle and the crown than the word Thumbs Up.

At the time of Coca Cola's re-entry in India in 1993, Thums Up commanded a market share of 36 per cent, as against Pepsi's 26 per cent in the cola market. The founders sold the company to Coca Cola for $60 million - considered a song in today's absolute terms.

However, instead of treating the acquisition like a prized stallion, the American cola giant went on to cold shoulder India's leading aerated drinks brand, in the fond hopes of cornering some glory for its own brands. Unfortunately for Coca Cola, that only helped its arch-nemesis Pepsi corner a 30 per cent market share - nearly thrice as much as that of Coca Cola, in the cola market.

Fortunately for Coke, it realised its folly and spent $3.5 million in revitalising a near-mothballed brand toward the begiining of the 21st century. The strategy paid off, as Thums Up, languishing at third place among the cola brands after Pepsi and Coca Cola, soon climbed the charts - first to second place, and eventually, as the leader of the cola pack.