In response, the multinational brands are ramping up consumer promotions at grocery stores and quick-commerce platforms, although they have not yet reduced their prices.
Industry executives told ET that Coca-Cola and PepsiCo are facing a dilemma: either drop prices and risk hurting profitability or maintain prices and potentially lose market share to a lower-priced competitor. Any pricing decisions, however, must be made in agreement with independent bottling partners.
RCPL entered the Indian soft drinks market, which is dominated by Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, in 2022 by introducing the Campa range in various pack sizes and flavors at significantly lower price points than its established rivals in select markets.
Cola wars: Thirst for a bigger sip
After a slow start, RCPL is now expanding the Campa brand across multiple markets, including southern states, West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, and parts of Uttar Pradesh, at disruptive prices.
An industry executive said, “RCPL has hinged its FMCG strategy on affordable pricing across categories including beverages, biscuits, confectionery and detergents, at price points 30-35% lower than rivals.”
This strategy aligns with the company’s internal policy of being “consumer-centric” rather than “competition-centric.”
For instance, Campa sells 250 ml bottles at Rs 10 each, while Coca-Cola and PepsiCo sell the same size for Rs 20. Additionally, Campa offers 500 ml bottles at Rs 20, whereas its larger competitors sell them at either Rs 30 or Rs 40.
Ravi Jaipuria, chairman of RJ Corp, whose group company Varun Beverages is PepsiCo’s bottling and distribution partner, recently addressed an analyst’s question about the potential impact of Campa’s entry into the market. Jaipuria expressed confidence in the market’s growth potential, saying, “We think every new person coming in has a chance to grow the market. Reliance is a formidable competition but they will have to put more investments, more plants, more visi-coolers and we are sure being Reliance, they will do a good job. The market is so large in India, with more investments the market will only grow much faster.”
Soft drink companies have been working to reduce the seasonal nature of their products by introducing new promotions and campaigns, particularly during the festive months of October to December, in addition to the peak summer quarter of April to June, which remains the most significant in terms of annual sales.
According to a report released by global research firm Kantar in June, the consumption of bottled soft drinks in Indian households surpassed an annual penetration of 50% in 2023-24. The report stated, “The bottled soft drink category grew 41% by MAT (moving annual total) in March ’23 and continued to add more households and expanded 19% in MAT in March ’24.”
Financial data accessed by Tofler, a business intelligence platform, revealed that Coca-Cola India reported a consolidated profit of Rs 722.44 crore in FY23, representing a 57.2% increase compared to the previous year. Varun Beverages also reported a strong performance, with a consolidated net profit of Rs 1,262 crore for the June ’24 quarter, a 26% growth over the same quarter in the previous year, attributed to volume growth and improved margins.