Days after it announced plans to foray into FMCG business, Reliance Industries has acquired soft drink brand Campa – a popular 1990s brand which was once among market leaders. The company, which has acquired the homegrown soft drink brand from Pure Drinks Group, is set to launch the brand in October, near Diwali, according to an ET report.
This means Campa will be directly competing with American brands such as Coca-Cola and Pepsico.
Isha Ambani, director of Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd, on Monday said that India’s conglomerate behemoth Reliance Industries will this year mark its entry into the fast-moving consumer goods business.
Reliance will launch its FMCG business, with an objective to develop and deliver high-quality, affordable products which will will solve every Indian’s daily needs, she said at RIL‘s 45th annual general meeting.
Notably, Reliance Retail has also acquired Delhi-based Pure Drinks Group in a deal estimated at about Rs 22 crore, the report said.
As per the report, the brand will be launched in Reliance Retail stores, JioMart, and over 15 lakh stores directly associated with Reliance Re-tail in the B2B segment.
Campa Cola was launched in the 1970s by Pure Drinks Group. The group was also behind the launch and distribution of Coca-Cola in 1949. The American brand was temporarily shunted out of the country in 1977. Brand Campa Cola was subsequently launched by Pure Drinks and Campa Beverages to fill the gap left by foreign soft drink brands in the country.
Coca-Cola and PepsiCo subsequently re-entered the Indian market in the 1990s throttling local competition in the process.
India’s FMCG sector is largely dominated by players such as Hindustan Unilever, Nestle India, ITC, Britannia Industries and Dabur India, among others.
