70s Campa Cola to make a comeback

NEW DELHI: "Iconic Indian soft drink set to make a comeback," reads the headline of the story reported by BBC on Campa Cola's comeback.

The British Broadcaster reminds us that the drink was popular in the 1970s and 80s, but fizzled out after foreign cola brands entered the market.

Now, billionaire Mukesh Ambani-promoted Reliance Consumer Products (RCPL) has officially relaunched the Campa brand as a challenge to the US-based beverage giants, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo.

The relaunch announced on Thursday, comes months after Reliance had acquired Campa for Rs 22 crore from Delhi-based Pure Drinks. 

“By presenting Campa in its new avatar, we hope to inspire consumers across generations to embrace this truly iconic brand and trigger a new excitement in the beverage segment,” an RCPL spokesperson said.

The launch of Campa comes as the summer season is about to hit the Indian subcontinent, the time when demand for beverages shoots up.

As per industry experts, Reliance has a fair chance of making a dent in the duopoly market. “Carbonated beverages market in India is a duopoly with Coke and Pepsi dominating it for decades with a few regional players on the fringe.

Reliance is coming up on a national level and has a fair chance of making a dent in the duopoly. By relaunching an old brand it will save time and money of creating a new brand and recipes and building equity,” Deepak Jasani, head of retail research, HDFC Securities, told this newspaper.  It was the re-entry of Coca-Cola into the Indian market following the liberalisation in early 1990s and its fierce competition with PepsiCo that led to fall and eventual collapse of Campa, a brand highly popular in the 1970s and 1980s. 

Reliance is offering Campa at prices much lower than competing firms. A two-litre bottle of Campa Cola is offered at Rs 49 at Jio Mart as against Rs 70 for a 1.75 litre bottle of Coca-Cola and Rs 66 for a 2.25 litre bottle of Pepsi. The Campa portfolio will initially include Campa Cola, Campa Lemon and Campa Orange. “The acquisition and subsequent launch of Campa brands by Reliance signifies its intent to strengthen its diverse acquired FMCG portfolio, which comprises heritage brands from Sosyo Hajoori, confectionary range from Lotus Chocolates and Sri Lanka’s leading biscuit brand Maliban. This will help scale up its FMCG business,” said Jasani. 

He added that Reliance’s strategy seems to be to go for small-sized deals valued at a few crores and then scale them up with its financial and marketing muscle.