After introducing its energy drink ‘Urzza’, Bisleri International is gearing up for a foray in the Rs 14,000-crore carbonated soft drinks sector in India. The company which sells ‘Bilseri’ packaged drinking water is currently formulating new products in the fizzy drinks category to target a wider audience. The company is also conducting pilot projects to know consumer preferences in this sector.
Bisleri has set up six new plants to manufacture ‘Urzza’ and its new carbonated soft drink brands this year. At present, Bisleri has 50 manufacturing plants for its packaged water brand. With this move, Bisleri will compete with Coca-Cola India and PepsiCo India in the carbonated soft drinks market. In 1993, Bisleri had sold its homegrown carbonated soft drinks brands Thums Up, Gold Spot, Limca, Citra and Mazza to Coca-Cola. For its re-entry into the carbonated soft drinks sector, Bisleri is now developing new products at its research centre. Currently Coca-Cola India leads the pack in this sector.
Bisleri is also looking at launching fruit juice-blended fizzy drinks. Like Bisleri, Coca-Cola India is now developing fruit juice-based carbonated soft drinks for the Indian markets. In September last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had suggested that 5% of fizzy drinks be blended with fresh fruit juice sourced from local farmers.
On Bisleri’s plans, Ramesh Chauhan, chairman of Bisleri International said, “After seeing good response for our new launch Urzaa, we are formulating new products in the carbonated soft drinks sector. We plan to create a new market in this category with these products.” The company is increasing its manufacturing capacity by 25% for its new launches. To reach out to wider target audience, Bisleri is planning to increase its distribution by 25 % this year.
“We launched Urzza in September last year.We have positioned it as power drink with out Caffeine. Our advertising strategy includes, print, television and sponsorship programmes,” said Chauhan . As for Bisleri’s foray into the fruit juice-blended carbonated soft drinks, Chauhan is apprehensive about the availability of fruit juices in India. “At present, almost 80% of fruit juice is imported except for mango juice. The availability of fruit juice is a major issue in this project,” said Chauhan.
Meanwhile, Coca- Cola India is working on developing new sparkling soft drinks with fruit juice for Indian markets and is planning to launch it in the next six months. When contacted, a company spokesperson declined to comment on Coke’s new initiatives. It will be the US beverages giant’s first fruit juice-based fizzy drink in India .At present, Coca-Cola Inc sells citrus-based soft drink called Fresca in the USA and some European markets. With increasing competition, there’s a new fizz in the carbonated soft drinks sector in India.