Will Campa Cola Keep its Fizz in a New World?

Campa Cola, the iconic brand, has made a comeback after nearly 30 years. Reliance Consumer Products Ltd, a subsidiary of the Reliance Group, is launching the Campa brand in cola, lemon, and orange flavours across the country through its own stores and kiranas. The brand that was killed by multinational behemoths Coca-Cola and Pepsi decades ago is back, with more muscle and power to reclaim its space.

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The FMCG legacy game

Campa is an important component of Reliance’s overall FMCG strategy, which aims to revive heritage brands while also developing new ones in order to capture the vast Indian market. Reliance confirms this. According to the company, the launch of Campa is part of “the company’s strategy to promote homegrown Indian brands that not only have a rich heritage but also have a deep-rooted connect with Indian consumers due to their unique tastes and flavours.”

Acquisition of once popular as well as regional brands is part of Reliance’s strategy to scale up its FMCG business. Reliance is expanding its consumer products portfolio by acquiring heritage brands like Campa. In January of this year, it paid an undisclosed sum for a 50% stake in Gujarat-based Sosyo Hajoori Beverages. Sosyo was founded in 1923 by the Hajoori family and has a nearly 100-year legacy in carbonated soft drinks and juices. In its home state of Gujarat, the Sosyo brand has a devoted following. Lotus Chocolate from the Pai family, Maliban, Sri Lanka’s leading biscuit brand, and its own JoyLand confectionery, Independence, and Good Life food brands are also important parts of its portfolio.

Last year, a Reliance executive told ET that the company has identified nearly two dozen potential brands for acquisition or joint venture to strengthen its FMCG business. Due to the high valuations sought, a couple of deals have already fallen through. Reliance’s strategy is to focus on small deals worth a few crores.

The power of Nostalgia

By presenting Campa in a new avatar, Reliance hopes to inspire consumers across generations to embrace the iconic brand. “While older family members will have fond memories of the original Campa and cherish the nostalgia associated with the brand, younger consumers will love the crisp refreshing taste. With a rapidly evolving Indian market throwing up more consumption occasions, we are truly excited to bring back Campa, which is yet another yet another bold step forward for our expanding FMCG business,” said a spokesperson of newly floated FMCG flagship Reliance Consumer Products.

But that may not be easy Pure Drinks had tried multiple times to revive Campa Cola, with the last ditch effort in 2019, but failed. That was due to lack of financial strength to take on the American beverage giants. However, financial power alone can’t guarantee a brand revival. Even entrenched players can fail to revive a brand. Coca-Cola bought RimZim in 1994 from Parle Bisleri. The fizzy jeera-flavoured carbonated drink was originally launched in the 1980s and had a niche audience. After years of waiting, Coca-Cola relaunched the brand in 2018, but it didn’t take off Nostalgia backed with financial might may not be enough to revive an old brand.

A new era for an old brand

Reliance has both the capital and the expertise to launch a new brand into the market. The timing of Campa Cola’s launch is significant. Reliance is launching it months after purchasing the brand from Pure Drinks, to coincide with the start of the IPL, when advertising and sales ramp up. While Reliance has not disclosed pricing, according to an ET report, Campa Cola will be relaunched at prices up to 215 percent lower than Coca-Cola and PepsiCo brands across five different pack sizes. Expect an aggressive price war in the upcoming summer season. Reliance Retail Ventures, the holding company of all the retail businesses under Reliance Industries, has a channel network of 17,225 stores besides ecommerce platforms including JioMart.

Coca-Cola, on the other hand, is unconcerned about Reliance Retail’s entry into the carbonated soft drinks market. According to the company, the competition will only help the category grow. “We are not concerned because, in the end, the brands must perform and establish consumer connections. More players in the category means more investment and marketing in the soft drinks category, which is underserved in India “Sanket Ray, president of Coca-Cola India and Southwest Asia, stated a few months ago.

According to a Crisil report, PepsiCo and Coca-Cola have a combined market share of more than 80% in India’s non-alcoholic beverages industry.

Top four soft drinks brands in the country include three Coca-Cola Company brands-Thums Up, Sprite and Coca-Cola – and PepsiCo’s Mountain Dew, according to an ET report from last year that cited industry executives with knowledge of data from NielsenIQ

According to a Crisil report, PepsiCo and Coca-Cola have a combined market share of more than 80% in India’s non-alcoholic beverages industry.

Reliance is pushing Campa Cola into the market when it is shifting. Coca-Cola is increasing its ad spends significantly as it moves to deseasonalise its business. PepsiCo too has been scaling up non-seasonal products like Sting energy drink and Gatorade sports drink to keep demand ticking in off-season. Campa Cola comes back when consumers are moving away from sugary drinks as more and more healthy beverages enter the market. The success of Paperboat that sells ethnic drinks such as aam panna rode on rising health consciousness among consumers

It remains to be seen how a resurrected Campa Cola navigates a world that is vastly different from the one in which it ruled the Indian market.

Also Read: Reliance Consumer Products launches FMCG brand in Gujarat