Can Dabur stand up to the combined might of Coca-Cola and Pepsi?

For every other brand to stand out, you need to move smarter.

After Pepsi fired the first salvo in Cola War Season 2025 with its tongue-in-cheek comeback to Coca-Cola’s campaign, the surprise player to hop on to the bandwagon was Dabur’s Réal Activ. In a front-page ad for the juice brand, the company urged consumers to switch to Réal Activ juice with “no added sugar and 100% fruit goodness” and ditch their favourite cola “that contains five cubes of added sugar” in every glass.

With a media budget of around Rs 850 crore, Dabur would be looking to benefit from the rub-off effect by promoting its product in the same light as products from the larger adversaries.

You can’t take on the Goliaths on a small budget is a myth and needs to be broken, says an expert. Lloyd Mathias, strategist & independent director and a former executive VP of marketing for PepsiCo, says, “What could work for Réal Activ is the fact that since the pandemic, there has been an accelerated shift towards immunity and healthy offerings, especially in urban markets.”

The thing is, colas are also increasingly finding themselves in the news for the wrong reasons. Besides the high sugar content and artificial flavouring, an industry observer adds that cola brands are coming under scrutiny for their role in plastic pollution and environmental stress. Against this backdrop, juice brands can differentiate themselves with healthier ingredients and sustainable packaging.

Now that Réal Activ has hit where it hurts most, it needs to get the follow-through right. Nisha Sampath, managing partner, Bright Angles Consulting, points out that colas have not just positioned themselves as thirst quenchers but also an experience. Further, most cola companies offer sugar-free alternatives for consumers who are health conscious. “Juices need to figure out what kind of personas they would like to build. Appy Fizz built an interesting campaign as a ‘cool drink to hang out with’. While it is also a carbonated drink, it proved that there is an alternative way to connect to youthful audiences,” observes Sampath.

The challenge for Réal Activ is that it is not an anytime drink, says Naresh Gupta, founder and managing partner, Bang In The Middle. “Colas have a fun-based imagery and can be consumed on several occasions, unlike juices whose positioning is more nutrition-focused. For Réal to expand the occasions to drink, it will need to work much harder to break the boundaries imposed by juices,” he notes. Even brands like Maaza and Slice have struggled to break away from the ‘juice’ imagery and its restrictions.

Target practice

As per a report by the IMARC Group, the Indian carbonated soft drinks market was estimated to be around Rs 47,400 crore in FY23 and is expected to cross Rs 60,000 crore in 2028 growing at a CAGR of 4.8%. Colas account for an estimated 20-25% of the carbonated beverage market, at around Rs 11,000 crore.

The juices and nectars category, in which Réal Activ operates, is reportedly a mere fraction of the cola category size at Rs 1,250 crore. Monisha Prasher, marketing head for beverages at Dabur India Ltd, says that Réal holds over 60% share in this segment.

Small pack sizes and affordable price points such as Rs 10 and Rs 20 have been popular across FMCG brands and that pricing strategy has also worked well for Réal Activ, she explains. “For beverages, the Rs 10 price point hits the sweet spot of affordability for Indian consumers, making it the preferred out-of-home consumption price point. The Rs 10 portfolio has helped expand our distribution and we see it as a key distribution and market share driver for the summer this year,” says Prasher.

Prasher explains that Réal Activ is going beyond summer consumption and is tapping occasions like social get-togethers and festive celebrations to widen its appeal, making it a preferred choice all-year-round.