If you’re a 90’s kid, you remember quenching your thirst with soft drinks like Citra, Gold Spot and Maaza. These drinks, were owned by the homegrown Parle, which also had Thums-up and Limca under its product gamut.
Parle Products was founded in 1929 in British India and was owned by the Chauhan family of Mumbai. While Parle products like Parle G and Rasna were parts of Parle Agro products, the carbonated drinks business was led by Ramesh Chauhan under Parle Bisleri. However, several of these brands including Citra, Thums Up, Limca, Gold Spot and Maaza were sold to international soda giant Coca Cola in 1993 for a reported $40 million. At the time of sale, the Parle brands together had a 60% market share in the industry.
Now, 23 years after the Coca Cola sale, Ramesh Chauhan has entered the soda market again with the launch of a fizzy drink called Bisleri pop. The company had been preparing to stage a comeback to the Rs 14,000-crore domestic beverages market ever since the non-compete agreement with Coca-Cola expired in 2008.
Bisleri Pop is available in 4 flavours – PinaColada, Spyci, Lnata, and Fonzo, and is available on the Parle Bisleri website, other than retail stores across the country.
With the clamour around the Make In India slogan, Parle Bisleri’s re-entry in a market they dominated more than 3 decades ago, signals coming of a full circle.