13th Feb,2012,Monday
Coca Cola will revive Citra, a clear-lime drink it bought from Ramesh Chauhan two decades ago but junked in favour of Sprite, in a move that analysts believe is more to target price-sensitive consumer segments than to unlock the brand's heritage value.
A person familiar with the top beverages maker's plans said Citra will be priced about 20% cheaper than existing lime-lemon drinks such as its own brands Sprite and Limca as well as PepsiCo's Mountain Dew and 7 Up, to target a wider audience and take on smaller brands.
A Coca-Cola spokesman confirmed the company is introducing Citra in "a few towns in Maharashtra and Gujarat" on a pilot basis. This will be followed by a staggered launch across other metros and bigger cities.
The move has surprised industry watchers because Coca-Cola's Sprite, the second-largest soft drink brand in the country after Thums Up, leads the lime-lemon drinks segment, which is the fastest-growing soft drink category in India's 13,000-crore fizzy drinks market.
Among those surprised is Ramesh Chauhan, who created brand Citra and made it popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
"After keeping the brand in cold storage for so many years, it's strange they want to re-introduce it now, especially when they have a strong presence in the clear-lime segment," Chauhan said. "If they are looking for retention and heritage value, then logically even Gold Spot should be revived."
When Coca-Cola re-entered India in 1993, it bought out all Parle brands except Bisleri from Chauhan.
Coca Cola will revive Citra, a clear-lime drink it bought from Ramesh Chauhan two decades ago but junked in favour of Sprite, in a move that analysts believe is more to target price-sensitive consumer segments than to unlock the brand's heritage value.
A person familiar with the top beverages maker's plans said Citra will be priced about 20% cheaper than existing lime-lemon drinks such as its own brands Sprite and Limca as well as PepsiCo's Mountain Dew and 7 Up, to target a wider audience and take on smaller brands.
A Coca-Cola spokesman confirmed the company is introducing Citra in "a few towns in Maharashtra and Gujarat" on a pilot basis. This will be followed by a staggered launch across other metros and bigger cities.
The move has surprised industry watchers because Coca-Cola's Sprite, the second-largest soft drink brand in the country after Thums Up, leads the lime-lemon drinks segment, which is the fastest-growing soft drink category in India's 13,000-crore fizzy drinks market.
Among those surprised is Ramesh Chauhan, who created brand Citra and made it popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
"After keeping the brand in cold storage for so many years, it's strange they want to re-introduce it now, especially when they have a strong presence in the clear-lime segment," Chauhan said. "If they are looking for retention and heritage value, then logically even Gold Spot should be revived."
When Coca-Cola re-entered India in 1993, it bought out all Parle brands except Bisleri from Chauhan.
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