Campa Cola, which formerly dominated the market with its soft drink, is all set for a comeback. Reliance, after announcing the debut of Jio 5G by that holiday this year, still has plenty of Diwali goodies left in the basket for the nation.
As part of its plan to expand the FMCG industry, Reliance Industries has purchased the domestic aerated beverage brand from Delhi-based, Pure Drinks, in a deal reported to be worth Rs 22 crore. It is bringing back India's formerly beloved desi cola at Reliance's own stores.
According to Economic Times, Isha Ambani's Reliance Retail will be entering the FMCG industry this year.
The report suggests one of the company's first moves appears to be taking on the American cola giants such as Coca-Cola and PepsiCo by relaunching the iconic Campa in the cola, lemon, and orange flavours nationally through the Reliance Retail stores, JioMart, and the over 15 lakh kiranas who buy products from Reliance's B2B network.
The Pure Drinks Group of Delhi, which was initially established as a Coca-Cola bottler and distributor, created Campa Cola. Campa seized advantage of the void left by Coca-Cola and positioned itself as having "The Great Indian Taste."
In due time, Campa Cola would have dominated the market in India's most populous segments alongside the soft drinks produced by Mumbai-based Parle, including Gold Spot, Limca, and Thums Up.
However, Coca-Cola returned to India, alongside Pepsi from Pepsico. The duo captured the Indian market, the domestic brands. By acquiring the three Parle brands upon its return, Coca-Cola almost eliminated the opposition. Due to a lack of resources, Campa was unable to compete and gradually disappeared from the market. Since then, the market for Coca-Cola, Pepsi, and their acquisitions has remained stable.
