Quick Case HBP No.

8253

Campa Cola: Reintroducing a Classic Brand

ST
PO
The Scenario
In March 2023, Upasana Gupta and Kumar Damani were meeting at their strategy consulting firm in

R
Mumbai, India. They were preparing a presentation for Gaurav Jain, head of strategy and business
development of Reliance Industries,1 to discuss the relaunch of Campa Cola, an Indian beverage brand

O
that was popular in the 1980s and 1990s. Reliance Industries had acquired Campa Cola from the Pure
Drinks Group in August 2022.2
PY
Fast Facts: Reliance Retail
• Company: The retail initiative of Reliance Industries3
O

• Reach: 18,446 retail stores, 70.6 million square feet retail area in 7,500+ towns, 267 million+
C

registered customer base, more than 2,800,000 customers served every hour

• Financials (FY23): INR ₹2,603.64 billion revenue and INR ₹179.28 billion EBITDA
T

• History: Reliance was founded in 2006 and is now the largest retailer in India4
O

The Conversation
N

Upasana settled onto the couch in her office and began talking with Kumar.

Upsana: What brands would Campa compete with in the Indian soft drink market?
O

Kumar: I have a table that provides the information. Here, I'll show you.
D

Exhibit 1: Brand Shares of Carbonated Soft Drinks in India and Their Ownership (2022)

Page 1 of 4
Campa Cola: Reintroducing a Classic Brand HBR Quick Case

Brands Market Share (%) in 2022 Brand Owners

Clamato 2% Keurig Dr Pepper

Coca Cola 29% The Coca Cola Company

Fanta 9% The Coca Cola Company

ST
Limca 3% The Coca Cola Company

Mirinda 1% PepsiCo

Mountain Dew 2% PepsiCo

PO
Orangina 7% Suntory

Pepsi 7% PepsiCo

Private Label 3% N/A

R
Ribena 6% Suntory

O
Schweppes 3% The Coca Cola Company

Sprite 10% The Coca Cola Company

PY
Steel Reserve 2% Molson Coors

Thums Up 3% The Coca Cola Company

Tribeco 6% Uni-President
O

Other 7% N/A
Source: Data accessed from "Carbonated Soft Drinks - India," Statista website,
C

https://www.statista.com/outlook/cmo/non-alcoholic-drinks/soft-drinks/carbonated-soft-drinks/india#revenue, accessed
January 5, 2024.
T

Kumar: As you can see, Pepsi and Coke are the two major players in this market. However, many
regional players are very strong and rule in specific regions.5
O

Upasana: What else can you tell me about this market?

N

Kumar: The per capita consumption of soft drinks in India is much lower than it is in Western
countries. The average Indian consumes only 2.81 liters of soft drinks annually; in contrast, the
O

average Swiss consumer drinks 574.04 liters annually.6 Another thing to consider, the rural population
in India is almost double the urban population.7 Also, the Indian consumer is always looking at options
D

in packaging and taste.8

Upasana: What are our competitors’ prices?

Page 2 of 4
Campa Cola: Reintroducing a Classic Brand HBR Quick Case

Kumar: A 200 ml polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottle of either Coke or Pepsi is priced at INR ₹15
each, while 2.25-liter PET bottles of Coke or Pepsi are priced at INR ₹99 each.9

Upasana: Where are our current bottling plants?

Kumar: We have one in Mumbai and one in Delhi.10

ST
Upasana: Campa is an old, heritage brand. Why don’t you work on our strategy, including our
positioning? We can discuss this further in our board meeting before we relaunch Campa.

PO
Kumar: I will have the document ready next week.

R
The Ask
1. What is the market structure of the Indian carbonated soft drinks market?

2. What strategy should Campa Cola use to compete in this market?

O
PY
——————————————————

1
Reliance is India’s largest private sector corporation and a Fortune 500 company, owned by Mukesh Ambani. Reliance has diverse
O

interests.
2
“Reliance acquires soft drink brand Campa as part of expansion in FMCG space,” Times of India, August 31,
2022, https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/reliance-acquires-soft-drink-brand-campa-as-part-of-expansion-in-fmcg-
space/articleshow/93909377.cms?from=mdr, accessed January 5, 2024.
C

3
Key Facts, Reliance Retail, https://relianceretail.com/key-facts.html, accessed January 5, 2024.
4
“Reliance retail says it is set to lead the retail industry in the coming decade,” Livemint, August 6,
2023, https://www.livemint.com/companies/news/reliance-retail-says-it-is-set-to-lead-the-retail-industry-in-the-coming-decade-
11691325293417.html, accessed February 12, 2024.
5
Tanzila Shaikh, “Campa Cola relaunch: Is the new avatar fizzy enough for the GenZ?” exchange4media, March 29,
T

2023, https://www.exchange4media.com/marketing-news/campa-cola-relaunch-is-the-new-avatar-fizzy-enough-for-the-genz-126281.html,
accessed January 10, 2024.
O

6
“Per-capita volume sales in the soft drinks market worldwide by country in 2022,” Statista, November 8,
2023, https://www.statista.com/forecasts/763162/per-capita-volume-sales-in-the-soft-drinks-market-worldwide-by-country, accessed
January 3, 2024.
N
O

This Quick Case was prepared by Tulsi Jayakumar of S.P. Jain Institute of Management & Research. HBR Quick Cases are
developed solely as the basis for class discussion. They are not intended to serve as endorsements, sources of primary data, or
illustrations of effective or ineffective management. This publication may not be digitized, photocopied, or otherwise reproduced,
D

posted, or transmitted without the permission of Harvard Business Publishing. All industry and company data in this Quick Case is
publicly available.

Copyright © 2024 Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation. All rights reserved.

Page 3 of 4
Campa Cola: Reintroducing a Classic Brand HBR Quick Case

ST
7
Manya Rathore, “Rural and Urban Population in India 2018-2021”, Statista, July 10, 2023, https://www.statista.com/statistics/621507/rural-
and-urban-population-india/, accessed January 17, 2024.
8
Tanzila Shaikh, “Campa Cola relaunch: Is the new avatar fizzy enough for the GenZ?” exchange4media, March 29,

PO
2023, https://www.exchange4media.com/marketing-news/campa-cola-relaunch-is-the-new-avatar-fizzy-enough-for-the-genz-126281.html,
accessed January 10, 2024.
9
“As Campa Cola returns, Coca-Cola cuts 200 ml bottle price by Rs 5,” Deccan Herald, March 16,
2023, https://www.deccanherald.com/business/as-campa-cola-returns-coca-cola-cuts-200-ml-bottle-price-by-rs-5-1200645.html, accessed
January 9, 2024.
10
“Reliance to bring back Campa Cola of the 70s! Ambani buys the old brand from Pure Group”, Business Today, September 2,
2022, https://www.businesstoday.in/latest/deals/story/reliance-to-bring-back-campa-cola-of-the-70s-ambani-buys-the-old-brand-from-pure-
group-346045-2022-08-31, accessed January 17, 2024.

R
O
PY
O
C
T
O
N
O
D

Page 4 of 4