Asia’s richest man challenges soda giants

May 06, 2025 (MLN): Asia’s richest man is challenging the decades-long dominance of Coca-Cola Co. and PepsiCo Inc. in the world’s most populous country, using a playbook he has perfected in other sectors: price disruption.

Investors got a peek at the inroads being made by Campa Cola under Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd.last month.

The Mumbai-based conglomerate said the fizzy drink achieved double-digit market share in key regions in the year ended March 31 barely two years after it was relaunched in India.

It didn’t disclose exact share numbers or revenue for the brand in the latest quarter.

Reliance’s retail unit, helmed by the billionaire’s daughter, Isha Ambani, acquired Campa Cola a defunct brand that was hugely popular in 1980s for 220 million rupees ($2.6m) in 2022.

It offers 200-milliliter (6.7-fluid ounce) bottles for 10 rupees, or 12 cents, which is about half of what market leaders Coca-Cola and Pepsi charge consumers for similar-sized bottles.

Reliance’s sweet soda, which tastes similar to its bigger competitors, also is available in orange and lemon flavors.

The refineries-to-retail conglomerate is known for upending any sector it enters, mostly by crashing prices and driving competition out.

The most recent instance was its 2016 move into India’s telecom sector with free calls and dirt-cheap data a shockwave that whittled down competition from a dozen operators to just three today.

Now, Campa Cola’s growth is mostly coming at the expense of Coke and Pepsi, said Arvind Singhal, founder of Indian consumer consultancy Technopak Advisors.

It also has expanded India’s overall soft drink market due to its relatively cheap price, he added.

Coca-Cola and PepsiCo re-entered the country in the 1990s after it took steps to liberalize the economy.

For the two global giants, India’s 1.3 billion-plus population has emerged as a promising growth spot overseas, as Bloomberg reported.

They face home-market woes including high input costs, signs of a consumer pullback, the prospect of eroding demand for snacks and soda from experimental GLP-1 pills, and tariff-related headwinds.

Reliance in January projected that revenue for the brand will increase 150% to 10bn rupees in the year ended March 31.

The local unit of the Atlanta-based Coke maker had a revenue of 47bn rupees for the year ending March 2024, according to the most recent data from India’s Registrar of Companies.

Representatives for the two American beverage firms and Reliance did not respond to emails seeking comment.

The competitive threat from Campa Cola has spurred rival drink brands to cut prices, introduce new variants and shore up their own retail networks.

"We believe the cola pricing war may continue in the medium term,” Amit Sachdeva, a UBS analyst, wrote in an April 21 note, noting Reliance is aggressively building on Campa Cola’s market share gains.

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