Cola price war intensifies with Reliance's Campa expansion

Posted on:
Key Points

New Delhi: A cola price war is brewing, with Reliance Consumer Products (RCPL) taking its Campa range of soft drinks - sold at half the price of Coca-Cola and PepsiCo brands - to multiple new markets ahead of the festive season...

"The multinational brands have not dropped prices immediately, but are stepping up tactical promotions at local retailers and cross-promotions and bundling on quick-commerce platforms," a beverages industry executive said...

The FMCG arm of Reliance Retail forayed into the Indian soft drinks market dominated by Coca-Cola and PepsiCo in 2022 by launching the Campa range in multiple pack sizes and flavours at significantly lower price points than established rivals in select markets...

After the slow start, RCPL is now scaling up the Campa brand across various markets including the southern states, West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha and parts of Uttar Pradesh at disruptive prices, executives in direct knowledge of the developments said.. "RCPL has hinged its FMCG strategy on affordable pricing across categories including beverages, biscuits, confectionery and detergents, at price points 30-35% lower than rivals," another industry executive said..

Responding to an analyst question about the potential impact of Campa, RJ Corp chairman Ravi Jaipuria, whose group company Varun Beverages bottles and sells PepsiCo's products, had recently said the market is growing at a pace where there is enough room for new players to come in...

You might be interested in

Soft drinks to soaps: Reliance unveils big price war plan

26, Mar, 23

Earlier this month, Reliance relaunched the iconic soft drinks brand Campa, entering into the turf of US cola majors PepsiCo and Coca-Cola. It had priced competitively at Rs 10 for a 200-ml bottle and Rs 20 for a 500-ml bottle. Experts say Reliance does its homework very well and is quite successful at it. It has been strongly focused on areas of private consumption.

Will old Campa Cola keep its fizz in a new world?

11, Mar, 23

Campa Cola comes back when consumers are moving away from sugary drinks as more and more healthy beverages enter the market. It remains to be seen how a revived Campa Cola negotiates a world vastly different from the times when it ruled the Indian market.

Billionaire Ambani adopts familiar playbook in India cola battle vs Coke, Pepsi

24, Mar, 23

At first glance it may seem that Ambani will find it tough to loosen Pepsi's and Coca-Cola's stranglehold of a market Euromonitor estimates is worth $4.6 billion and set to grow 5% a year until 2027.

Reliance's Campa Cola may start off a price war this summer

11, Mar, 23

This is the first time Coca-Cola and PepsiCo are being challenged in India - a market they have dominated since the early 1990s.