With summer behind us, the cola wars are heating up as Reliance Industries is stepping up its efforts to make Campa Cola a formidable fourth player in a segment dominated by Coca Cola, Pepsi and Thums Up.

Campa is not only cheaper than other colas but will also be widely available across the country as the festive season approaches.

Street play

Reliance is following its tried and tested playbook of offering Campa at substantially lower prices, according to industry sources. A few months ago, to popularise the brand, it had hit upon the strategy of making it available with street vendors, especially in Bihar and West Bengal. These vendors combined a can or glass of Campa with foods that customers bought. The drink was available at a very cheap price, according to anecdotal evidence.

The company is now taking it a step further. On Jio Mart, a 200 ml bottle of Campa is sold for ₹10, while a 250 ml bottle of Pepsi and Coca Cola are available for ₹20 each. Its 500 ml bottle is priced ₹10-20 lower than the other two American brands. While Campa is sold online only on Jio Mart, in offline it is available at Reliance Retail’s supermarkets and grocery stores. It is also stocked by several hundreds of thousands of kirana stores across the country.

The maximum retail price per 100 ml for a Campa is ₹4, compared to ₹4.40 for the other three colas. The difference is not much on a lower unit size, but for large sized bottles the gap becomes significant. When seen across e-commerce platforms, the other colas have a higher price except in the case of Amazon and DMart Ready where the price of Coca Cola is fractionally lower.

It is not only in the prices where Reliance Consumer plans to disrupt the market. Campa is now available in West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and other Southern states at lower prices. When Campa was first launched by Reliance Consumer Brands in 2022, it did so in States such as Gujarat, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh which are the largest markets for carbonated beverages in the country. It is also the territories where Coca Cola is the leader.

It is also widening its distribution reach and supply. It currently works with around eight local bottlers in each State, while there are plans to set up its own chain of bottling units or buy existing ones.

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