Months after buying a stake in the firm behind iconic Indian soft drink brand Sosyo, Reliance Consumer Products has relaunched one more cola brand Campa with two new flavours. Launched by Mumbai-based Pure Drinks Group in the 70s, Campa Cola was overtaken by Coca Cola and Pepsi in the 90s.
Resurrecting a legacy
With plants shutting down between 2001 and 2009, Campa had faded away from the Indian markets and consumer memory by 2012. The new iteration will come in orange as well as lemon variations apart from cola. Apart from pandering to nostalgia, the return of Campa Cola marks Reliance's foray into the beverage market with a local brand, which it bought for Rs 22 crore.
Push for local manufacturing
Campa will also be an addition to the product portfolio at Jio Mart, which is already competing with Walmart-owned Flipkart and Amazon, in the e-commerce sector. The launch comes months after it was previously touted as a Diwali offering by Reliance. Currently, 90 per cent of the Indian soft-drink market is currently dominated by Coca Cola and Pepsi or brands owned by the two.
Campa Cola had emerged as a local Indian drink after Coca Cola had been pushed out of the country during the emergency. Its founder Charanjit Singh had been manufacturing Coca Cola in India till then, and launched Campa Cola to save 2,800 workers from unemployment. Apart from a memorable taste, Campa Cola is also remembered for commercials and had introduced Salman Khan to screens in 1983.
