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Less than two days after Mukesh Ambani announced his daughter's succession to the management of Reliance Retail, the company announced the revival of the age-old cola brand Campa Cola.
Members of GenZ may not recognize the brand, but our parents certainly would. Campa Cola was the Indian substitute of Coca Cola which was launched by Pure Drinks Group.
Interestingly, Pure Drinks group, who were considered pioneers of the Indian beverage industry, were the sole manufacturers and distributors of Coca-Cola when it was launched in India in 1949. However, Coca-Cola was compelled to leave India in 1977, after dominating it for decades, due to governmental pressure to reveal its secret concentrate formula.
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At the time, the massive void was filled by Parle Group's Thums up & Campa Cola, which was launched by the Pure Drinks Group. Both brands stressed being domestic brands as there was heavy competition between the duo. Unknown to most people, Salman Khan who appears in the toofani ads of Thums Up actually starred as a teen in an ad for Campa Cola!
However, a downturn came for the brand after a decade of being a household brand for many. In 1991, foreign companies were allowed back in the country to boost investment in the country. This marked the re-entry of Coca-Cola, which acquired Parle Group's beverage portfolio later on. Campa Cola declined steadily as its bottling plants and offices shut down by 2000.
Although Campa Cola lost its national touch, the brand was supposedly still in operation in northern states but was lost from the remainder of India.
Come 2022, Reliance Retail acquired the iconic brand shortly after the retail arm of RIL announced its foray into FMCG. The deal is estimated to be around Rs 22 crores. According to reports, the brand will be launched through Reliance Retail stores, JioMart, and 15 lakh stores directly associated with the company's B2B segment. Furthermore, the brand is expected to launch by Diwali this year according to certain reports!
Reliance Retail is an unlisted company but the IPO of the same was expected to be launched soon. However, Mukesh Ambani, RIL's Chairman and MD, has effectively postponed the same to next year at the conglomerate's 45th AGM held recently.
Article by Aman Agarwal.
This news piece is brought to you in association with Jobaaj.com
