After nearly 30 years, iconic brand Campa Cola has made a comeback. Reliance Consumer Products Ltd, which is part of the Reliance Group, is launching the Campa brand nationally in the cola, lemon and orange flavour through its own stores and kiranas. It seems like a heroic comeback — the brand that was killed by multinational biggies Coca-Cola and Pepsi decades ago is back, with more muscle and power, to reclaim its space.

The FMCG heritage play
Campa is an important piece in the overall FMCG strategy of Reliance which wants to revive heritage brands in addition to creating new ones to capture the vast Indian market. Reliance says as much. It has stated that the launch of Campa is in line with “the company’s strategy to promote homegrown Indian brands that not only have a rich heritage but also boast of a deep-rooted connect with Indian consumers due to their unique tastes and flavours.”.

A part of Reliance’s strategy to scale up its FMCG business is acquisition of once popular as well regional brands. Campa is part of the consumer products portfolio Reliance is building by buying such heritage brands. In January this year, it bought 50% interest in Gujarat-headquartered Sosyo Hajoori Beverages for an undisclosed sum. With a legacy of about 100 years in carbonated soft drinks and juices, Sosyo was established in 1923 by the Hajoori family. The Sosyo brand has a loyal customer base in its home state of Gujarat. Lotus Chocolate from the Pai family, Sri Lanka’s leading biscuit brand Maliban, and its own JoyLand confectionery, and Independence and Good Life food brands are other important pieces of its portfolio.

A Reliance executive told ET last year that Reliance has identified almost two dozen potential brands which can be acquired or for joint ventures to strengthen the FMCG business. A couple of deals have already fallen through due to high valuations sought. Reliance’s strategy is to go for small sized deals valued at a few crores.

The power of Nostalgia
By presenting Campa in a new avatar, Reliance hopes to inspire consumers across generations to embrace the iconic brand. “While older family members will have fond memories of the original Campa and cherish the nostalgia associated with the brand, younger consumers will love the crisp refreshing taste. With a rapidly evolving Indian market throwing up more consumption occasions, we are truly excited to bring back Campa, which is yet another yet another bold step forward for our expanding FMCG business,” said a spokesperson of newly floated FMCG flagship Reliance Consumer Products.

But that may not be easy. Pure Drinks had tried multiple times to revive Campa Cola, with the last ditch effort in 2019, but failed. That was due to lack of financial strength to take on the American beverage giants. However, financial power alone can’t guarantee a brand revival. Even entrenched players can fail to revive a brand. Coca-Cola bought RimZim in 1994 from Parle Bisleri. The fizzy jeera-flavoured carbonated drink was originally launched in the 1980s and had a niche audience. After years of waiting, Coca-Cola relaunched the brand in 2018, but it didn’t take off. Nostalgia backed with financial might may not be enough to revive an old brand..The new world for an old brand
Reliance has the money as well as the chops to push a new brand into the market. The timing of the launch of Campa Cola is significant. Reliance is launching it months after it bought the brand from Pure Drinks to coincide the launch with IPL when advertising and sales pick up. While Reliance has not revealed the pricing, an ET report said Campa Cola will be relaunched at price points up to ?15 lower than Coca-Cola and PepsiCo brands across five different pack sizes. Expect an aggressive price war in the upcoming summer season. Reliance Retail Ventures, the holding company of all the retail businesses under Reliance Industries, has a channel network of 17,225 stores besides ecommerce platforms including JioMart.

Coca-Cola, however, is not unduly concerned about Reliance Retail’s foray in the carbonated soft drinks market. The company says the competition will only help grow the category. “Ultimately, the brands have to perform and establish consumer connect; hence we are not worried. More players in the category means more investment and marketing in soft drinks which is an under-penetrated category in India,” Coca-Cola India and Southwest Asia president Sanket Ray had said a few months ago..

PepsiCo and Coca-Cola have a combined market share of over 80% in India’s non-alcoholic beverages industry, according to a Crisil report.

Top four soft drinks brands in the country include three Coca-Cola Company brands – Thums Up, Sprite and Coca-Cola – and PepsiCo’s Mountain Dew,
according to an ET report from last year that cited industry executives with knowledge of data from NielsenIQ.

Thums Up, Coca-Cola’s home-grown cola brand that tops the ?50,000-crore packaged carbonated soft drinks market in the country, hit a decade-high market share of 20%, executives had told ET, citing NielsenIQ’s data. Thums Up crossed $1 billion in annual sales in India in 2021, Coca-Cola Global CEO James Quincey had announced.

According to industry estimates, penetration of packaged soft drinks in India is among the lowest, leaving much headroom for brands to convert consumers from unbranded to branded drinks.

Reliance is pushing Campa Cola into the market when it is shifting. Coca-Cola is increasing its ad spends significantly as it moves to deseasonalise its business. PepsiCo too has been scaling up non-seasonal products like Sting energy drink and Gatorade sports drink to keep demand ticking in off-season. Campa Cola comes back when consumers are moving away from sugary drinks as more and more healthy beverages enter the market. The success of Paperboat that sells ethnic drinks such as aam panna rode on rising health consciousness among consumers.

It remains to be seen how a revived Campa Cola negotiates a world vastly different from the times when it ruled the Indian market.