It’s amusing how a geopolitical conflict halfway across the globe could decide which beverage ends up in your refrigerator. This isn’t just any random scenario, but what’s really taking place right now.
The echoes of the Israel-Palestine war can be heard in India’s beverage business, and somehow, it is helping Mukesh Ambani’s Campa Cola to make a comeback into the Indian market.
The Story Behind The Big Comeback
The Israel-Palestine war started in October 2023. It led to widespread terror and a humanitarian crisis. Hamas launched attacks on Israel, leading to thousands of casualties and severe violence. In response, Israel carried out extreme military actions in Gaza, resulting in many Palestinian deaths.
The war sparked global protests and calls for justice and peace, including boycotts of Western products, as they were perceived to be in favour of the war. Consumers around the world began linking their consumption to political causes, in an attempt to exert their individual control over the situation.
Over the past two years, protests against Israel’s actions in Gaza have turned into boycotts of consumer goods. This boycott has rippled into every corner of the world, as many are choosing to avoid brands related to the war or other Western companies supporting it.
In India, we’ve witnessed a subtle boycott of American cola giants Pepsi and Coca-Cola in several Muslim-dominated areas.
Restaurants and shops have taken down these cola products from their shelves. In one such article, Scroll.in records the words of a shopkeeper, “We don’t buy any product linked to the occupation of Palestine. I used to drink Coke and Pepsi earlier, but now I totally boycott them.”
This is where Mukesh Ambani’s Campa Cola comes into the picture. For the past two years, the brand has set its throne in the market share of the American cola companies.
Where Did the Fizz Begin
Campa Cola was originally started under the Pure Drinks Group in the 1970s by Mohan Singh. The brand quickly took over the market and became a household name.
For almost 15 years, Campa Cola dominated India’s beverage market owing to the lack of foreign rivals. Its slogan, “The Great Indian Taste,” brought feelings of patriotism among Indians.
However, by 2001, the production and eventually the sales came down, and by 2009, the brand became a long-lost, forgotten tale.
In 2022, Reliance Industries purchased Campa Cola for Rs 22 crores, and by 2023, the products were officially relaunched. What was meant to be a revival of nostalgia quickly took over the market during the consumer boycott of other American cola brands.
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Campa Cola’s Unexpected Comeback
Nothing could have been better than the timing Reliance chose to relaunch Campa Cola products into the market. As Coke and Pepsi struggled to maintain their thrones in certain neighbourhoods, Campa quickly won hearts. As noted by DNA India, in just 18 months, the brand reached a revenue of Rs 1000 crore.
The reason for this thunderbolt revival is twofold: one being the homegrown approach that doesn’t carry Western baggage, and another is the huge Reliance network that makes its supply in thousands of stores possible overnight.
The demand, indeed, has surged so much that distributors and company agents confirm it. News publication, Scroll.in was informed by a Campa distributor, “There is so much demand that the company is unable to meet it.” He further admitted that the company has done business of “about five crore rupees in just eight months.”
The cola war has now stretched far beyond the Indian border. According to The Hindu, Reliance Consumer Products Ltd. (RCPL), the FMCG arm of Reliance Industries Ltd., has introduced the “Indian legacy brand” in the United Arab Emirates, marking its position in that region as well.
According to Business Standard, Isha Ambani, the head of Reliance’s FMCG and retail divisions, announced that the company plans to expand its reach to international markets, beginning with Asia and Africa.
The New Indian Express quotes Dinesh Taluja, the Chief Financial Officer of Reliance Retail, “Campa has now 14% market share in key markets.”
Taluja further said, “We did a high-decibel campaign during IPL for Campa, which has a very high recall. And we now have double-digit market share in key markets. We are also pretty quickly expanding our supply chain and building robust manufacturing capabilities across the length and breadth of the country.”
The company has already begun its venture of becoming a non-Western alternative. If successful, it would be the first time an Indian soft drink brand challenges Western giants not just domestically but through a global political movement.
The Taste That Crossed Borders
It’s interesting how a conflict over borders can have so much effect on something as basic as people’s beverage choices. But that’s exactly what Reliance chose to back its initiative. Campa Cola’s current success is an example of our hyperconnected world, where politics has collaborated with marketing to give rise to a whole business line.
Campa Cola isn’t unique just because of the flavour; it’s special because of its representation. For many people across the globe, picking up a bottle of Campa isn’t merely about a choice of taste but a silent rejection of Western dominance.
In the end, it’s not just about a soft drink; it’s about control and consumer choices. And in this strange timing of events, a reintroduction of a decades-old Indian brand somehow found its way into the political and national interests of people.
Maybe the irony is that a war almost halfway across the globe helped India rediscover “The Great Indian Taste.”
Images: Google Images
Sources: The Hindu, The New Indian Express, Scroll.in
Find the blogger: @shubhangichoudhary_29
This post is tagged under: Campa Cola, Ambani Campa Cola, Campa Cola comeback, Mukesh Ambani, Reliance Industries, Palestine conflict, Israel Palestine war, global boycotts, Indian beverage market, Coca Cola boycott, Pepsi boycott, Campa Cola success story, geopolitics and business, consumer trends India
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