Nivedita Jayaram Pawar, Moneycontrol

March 25, 2023

Campa Cola, that much-loved soft drink from the ’70s and ’80s, is set to return to supermarket shelves this summer. Mukesh Ambani’s newly floated FMCG flagship Reliance Consumer Products (RCP) bought the brand from its makers Pure Drinks in August last year, reportedly for Rs 22 crore. The cola will be re-launched in a new contemporised avatar this summer. Campa Cola, Campa Lemon and Campa Orange will be rolled out in phases starting with Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and then across the country. The company is on a drive to acquire and promote homegrown Indian brands with a deep-rooted connect with Indian consumers. RCP has also acquired a 50 percent stake in the 100-year-old legacy brand Sosyo from Hajoori Beverages Pvt. Ltd this January. Lotus Chocolate from the Pai family, Sri Lanka’s leading biscuit brand Maliban and its own JoyLand confectionery, and Independence and Good Life food brands are other important pieces of its portfolio.

The back story

Coca-Cola entered India in the 1950s but made a hasty retreat two decades later when the Indian government introduced a regulation that would have required it to reveal its formula. Interestingly, it was the Pure Drinks Group that first introduced Coca-Cola in India in 1949, and was its sole licensed manufacturer and distributor. The Group which also owns the Le Méridien hotel in Delhi, decided to launch its own cola in the market after the unexpected and overnight exit of Coca-Cola from India. Since the company already had the expertise and the infrastructure — 12 bottling plants, plus manpower in excess of 10,000 — this seemed the natural thing to do. Pepsi had not yet arrived and the only other competition was the state-owned Double Seven and Thums Up owned by Ramesh Chauhan’s Parle Bisleri.

Campa which promised “The Great Indian Taste” was launched using locally developed concentrate in three flavours — cola, orange and lemon. Though apple and jeera flavours were added later, cola made up almost 80 percent of the product mix. In the 15 years that followed Campa went on to rule the Indian soft drinks market. It even used the same Coca-Cola font. During its heyday, it was manufactured in over 50 factories across the country, including four in Delhi. However, Campa started to lose its fizz by the mid-’90s, when Coca-Cola returned and homegrown Thums Up started gaining ground. It gradually disappeared from stalls and shelves across the country. Production of the drink at the Delhi factory stopped in 1999. The heroic comeback of the ‘Made in India’ brand after more than three decades is making many Indians nostalgic. And the fact that it’s backed by a home grown conglomerate is only adding to the excitement.

Will nationalism and nostalgia alone suffice to throttle the strong base, aggressive marketing campaign and sprawling distribution network created by Coca Cola and Pepsi? Experts feel that nostalgia will definitely drive people to try the cola especially since its challenging international giants in the segment. But it will take a lot more than that believes Devangshu Dutta, founder of retail consulting firm Third Eyesight. “Though the brand has some latent awareness, it’s with a different segment — people in the late 40s and upwards. But the consumption pattern is driven by a younger profile. So Reliance will have to build the awareness and the stickiness for the product with the segment. And that’s a hard piece of work which is why I believe they have brought in the tried and tested tactic that they use — price wars. They have launched it at a price which has forced the incumbent two international brands to lower their prices.” Campa is priced at Rs 10 for a 200 ml bottle and Rs 20 for a 500 ml bottle.

Positioning will also play an important role in this, he adds. “Reliance will have to figure out how to position the brand correctly and make that positioning distinct from the existing players. Coca-Cola has always been about happiness, whereas Pepsi is all about the younger generation and Thums Up is about daring. Campa Cola will have to find its own distinct positioning. Without that they will just be a generic cola drink. Of course being the largest retailer in the country helps and their vast retail network will definitely be an advantage. But that can’t be the end of it.” According to sources, the company is expected to advertise Campa Cola heavily during the Indian Premier League (IPL).

According to brand strategy expert Harish Bijoor, Campa has the potential of emerging a viable competitor to the two big MNC colas Coke and Pepsi. “The brand has the power of being a local one, in an environment where the local is celebrated over the global. I do believe Campa can enjoy the power of desi-revival to give it wings,” he says but cautions that nostalgia won’t suffice. “The brand and its taste is long forgotten. It is important to stoke these dead embers. It is important to position the brand distinctly with USPs that scream the ‘desi taste’! Desi tone, desi tenor and desi decibel will help.”

The branded non alcoholic beverage market in India is pegged at Rs 450 billion with Coca Cola, PepsiCo, Parle, Dabur and ITC being the key players along with several regional brands. The strong wave towards healthier options will pose some problems for the iconic brand feels Angshuman Bhattacharya, national leader — consumer product and retail sector, EY India. “The carbonated soft drink (CSD) market is witnessing headwinds (4 percent growth) as consumers are moving towards healthier beverages (12-15 percent growth). In this context, CSD is a tough and highly competitive category, hinging on bottling and distribution strengths. Campa Cola is a brand which is familiar to Indians, but will need large investments to scale. However with the largest retail house backing the brand, it could well be a success story given the larger modern trade and general trade platform available to scale it up.”

The return of the cola

Though Campa was synonymous with cola in the 1990s, today’s urban 20-somethings have only heard of the drink through nostalgic ramblings of their parents and older cousins. Incidentally Campa Cola gave actor Salman Khan his first TV commercial, much before he became a mega star. The 1982 advertisement showed Khan guzzling on the cola while on a yacht along with Tiger Shroff’s mom Ayesha Shroff and other models, while a catchy jingle played in the background. This was a time when Bollywood actors used TV commercials to break into the industry. “The creative was pretty much left to me. I had suggested, for some strange reason, that we do it underwater. A lot of people had done beach scenes, a lot of people had done parties scenes, music, beach parties, stuff like that. It was something different and I also liked to travel while shooting ads,” says advertisement film-maker Kailash Surendranath who shot the ad in the Andamans.

“Campa Cola used to be a birthday party treat or a drink we had at get togethers. We would also pack crates of it for long drives and picnics. There was not much choice those days as Coke had just exited the country and Pepsi hadn’t entered. But above all it was a great tasting drink — not too fizzy like Thums Up or overtly sweet like Gold Spot. It was just right,” remembers Swati Roy, an advertising professional.

Aarti Khandelwal a housewife in Delhi remembers visiting the Campa factory in Connaught Place as a student. “We were packed in a school bus and led to this factory where we were dazzled with how colas were made. I remember we were even treated to a bottle each after the visit,” she says. “Ek cola dena actually meant ek Campa Cola dena,” recalls Shirish Date, who loved the soft drink and is eagerly looking forward to picking it up. “I will buy it just for the old times’ sake. It’s a part of my childhood. I just hope they don’t mess with the taste too much. The tag line then was ‘the great Indian taste’ and I hope they stick to that,” he says.

(Published in Moneycontrol)

Sharleen D’Souza, Business Standard

Mumbai, March 23, 2023

After sparking a price war in the carbonated beverages market through Campa Cola, Reliance Consumer Products has taken the pricing battle to the other segments in the fast-moving consumer goods market.

For instance, in soaps, it has priced its product lower than the market leader in the segment at Rs. 25 for 100 gms across its three brands – Glimmer, Get Real and Puric.

With Glimmer, Reliance Consumer competes with Lux, which sells a 100-gm soap bar at Rs. 36, while Get Real is similar to Hindustan Unilever’s Pears soap bar, which is priced at Rs. 54 for 100 gms. In the hygiene space, Reliance has taken on Reckitt Benckiser’s Dettol, priced at Rs. 40 for 75 gms. Godrej Consumer Products, one of the leaders in soaps sells its Godrej No 1 45 gms (each) pack of 4 for Rs. 40.

In the dish wash category, it captured the main price points of Rs. 5 for 75 gms, Rs. 10 for 145 gms, and Rs. 15 for 200 gms in bars, and Rs. 10 for 65 ml pouch, Rs. 20 for around 140 ml pouch, and Rs. 30 for 200 ml pouch in liquids. HUL’s Vim bar is priced at Rs. 5 for a 60-gm pack and Rs. 10 for a 125-gm pack, while a 300-gm pack retails at Rs. 30.

But Reliance has also moved a step further into the sachet space and is retailing a 5 ml sachet of dish wash liquid at Rs. 1. Other brands do not sell sachets.

On JioMart, the price of RCPL’s Enzo two-litre front-load liquid detergent is Rs. 250, a 43 per cent discount to the maximum retail price (MRP) of Rs. 440; the topload two-litre liquid detergent is available at a 35 per cent discount and now priced at Rs. 250. Its compact detergent powder one kg pack is priced at Rs. 149, after a 12 per cent discount on its MRP of Rs. 170. HUL’s Surf Excel Easy Wash detergent powder is priced at Rs. 150 and Quick Wash at Rs. 240 for a kilogram. But Rin detergent powder is priced for Rs. 103 and Wheel detergent powder at Rs. 73 for 1 kg. Surf Excel’s front load two-litre pack is priced at Rs. 390 and top load at Rs. 370. Tide’s 1.5 kg detergent powder sells for Rs. 225.

In detergents, Reliance has not disclosed which segment it intends to cater to and what price points it will offer in general trade.

Reliance is following the challenger strategy like in the telecom space, said Devangshu Dutta, founder at Third Eyesight. He said this is the fastest way to acquire market share, and since Reliance has deep pockets, it can easily fund market share acquisition by launching its products at a significant price difference compared to rivals.

“Customers will move at least to try the product and if they end up liking the product they will stick to it. This strategy is best suited for market share acquisition,” Dutta explained.

An executive from a top FMCG firm said on the condition of anonymity that there will eventually be a price war in whichever segment Reliance enters. He explained that while Reliance was still setting up its distribution network, over time due to its B2B supply chain, it will be able to push its products into retail
stores.

Some distributors who spoke on the condition of anonymity said it would not be easy to move the leaders in the segment as these companies have a fixed customer base and it might be difficult to topple brands that have been in the market for a while.

Reliance followed the same strategy with its carbonated beverage, Campa Cola. It relaunched Campa at a price point of Rs. 10 for 200 ml, Rs. 20 for 500 ml, Rs. 30 for 600 ml, Rs. 40 for one litre, and Rs. 80 for two
litres.

(Published in Business Standard)

New Delhi: The launch of online shopping experience by WhatsApp, along with Jio platforms, the holding company for the digital services businesses of Reliance Industries (RIL), will help these companies to take on e-commerce behemoths such as Jeff Bezos-controlled Amazon and Walmart-owned Flipkart.

Experts are of the view that the partnership will give JioMart, the e-commerce platform of RIL, around 48.7 crore WhatsApp users in India. At present, the total annualised active e-commerce users in the country are only 20 crore.

Rohan Agarwal, partner at research firm Redseer, told Business Standard: “WhatsApp is the primary messaging app for most Indians and the partnership shows the level of access JioMart would have to reach out to them.”

He went on add that it would help in expanding the reach of the e-commerce to users who might not be accessing online retail platforms.

To recap, speaking at the 45th AGM of RIL on Monday (August 29), Isha Ambani, director, Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd (RRVL), gave a presentation on placing online grocery orders using Meta-owned WhatsApp and making payments.

In a global first, JioMart on WhatsApp will aid users in India, including first-time online shoppers, to have a new shopping experience in ordering a wide range of groceries on WhatsApp. They will be able to shop via JioMart’s entire grocery catalogue by easily selecting their favourite items. Also, they will be able to add these products to the cart and pay without leaving the WhatsApp chat.

Mark Zuckerberg, founder and chief executive officer (CEO), Meta, said the association with JioMart would enable people to buy groceries from JioMart in a single chat.

Agarwal highlighted that most of the online grocery businesses generate from big cities and this alliance will be an opportunity for small cities and towns.

The financial daily quoted Devangshu Dutta, CEO, Third Eyesight, as saying that the partnership will have a big impact on the entire e-commerce industry.

Dutta added that the crucial thing for both companies to be successful is to create a delivery process that is quick and cost-effective.

Source: timesnownews

Over the past five years, legacy players have made a slew of investments in D2C startups. 

Marico has acquired men’s grooming brand Beardo, beauty brand Just Herbs and breakfast brand True Elements. Similarly, Emami acquired vegan cosmetics brand Brillare Science and grooming brand The Man Company. It recently picked up a minority stake in nutrition company TruNativ. Colgate-Palmolive and Reckitt both hold minority stakes in Bombay Shaving Company, whereas Wipro Consumer Care has invested in The Ayurveda Company. ITC has invested in baby and mother care brands Mother Sparsh and Mylo.

Devangshu Dutta explained the reasons behind the trend of larger FMCG companies acquiring D2C brands.

Akanksha Nagar, Financial Express
September 5, 2022

Can you give a brand a second shot at life?

Reliance Retail Ventures certainly thinks so. It has acquired Campa-Cola for an estimated `22 crore from Delhi-based Pure Drinks Group on the assumption that it will not only be able to revive the five-decade-old brand but can also use it to springboard into the dog-eat-dog soft drink market in India.

It will not be a cakewalk surely. The ones who were fans of the brand—which was launched in the 70s—have moved on, and younger customers have little or no association with the brand.

Samit Sinha, managing partner, Alchemist Brand Consulting, believes that Reliance must have been very keen on getting into the soft drinks category as a part of its overall strategy of retail expansion. In any case, it hasn’t had to shell out a bomb for the brand so it is a less audacious gambit than starting from scratch. There is one other factor that might work in its favour—which is the formula, the taste of which had near widespread acceptance in its heyday.

Sandeep Goyal, managing director, Rediffusion Brand Solutions, who is handling a similar resurrection of Garden Vareli sarees, says giving an old brand like Campa-Cola a new life will be far from easy—the Campa-Cola generation is now in their sixties and therefore there is very little monetisable value in the nostalgia.

Launch versus resurrect

From the looks of it, Campa-Cola will have to fight sip for sip, bottle for bottle.

Rohit Ohri, chairman and CEO, FCB Group India, who had managed the Pepsi account for more than a decade, says it will be difficult for a new brand to find space in a market dominated by multinationals like Pepsi and Coke. While the residual equity can help get the foothold, the real challenge would be to woo a younger consumer set.

Naresh Gupta, co-founder and CSO, Bang In The Middle, concurs: “When you try to resurrect a brand, you do it knowing that the brand isn’t doing well or has been out of circulation. That is big baggage for the brand to wipe out. Often the residual awareness and following are limited to the audience that is less likely to be your core audience today.”

There is also the fact that young people in the metros are moving away from colas, preferring healthier drinks or niche artisanal products instead. At the same time, soft drink is an impulse category and needs a large dose of salience to fly off the shelf.

Gupta says Reliance can try and build on the Indian-ness that Campa-Cola exudes. His guess is the old brand will be used as a calling card in trade and there would be a host of new launches that build upon it. “Campa-Cola may fuel a lot more fresh fizzy drinks launch from Reliance,” he adds.

That said, just the sheer time an old brand has spent on the shop-shelves would give Campa-Cola an edge over any new brand that its current owner might want to launch. An old brand can appear to be proven, experienced and secure, while a new brand could be seen as untested, raw, and risky. An old brand may have had a positive relationship with the consumer but may have been dormant due to strategic or operational reasons. In such a case, reviving the brand is clearly a good idea, says Devangshu Dutta, chief executive, Third Eyesight.

Reliance could have launched a new brand but if the existing brand has residual awareness or connection, it could be the pivot around which other brand properties can be built. Here, the new owner also has the benefit of having a wide retail network. As on March 31, 2022, Reliance Retail operated 15,196 stores across 7,000-plus cities with a retail area of over 41.6 million sq ft. This, if nothing else, will give Campa-Cola a start any new brand will die for.

(Published in Financial Express)