Reliance Industries is looking to revive the Indian beverage landscape through its FMCG division Reliance Consumer Products Ltd (RCPL) and is reinstating Campa Cola. This strategic move puts Campa Cola as one of the tough competitors for newly emerging giants Coca-Cola and PepsiCo in India’s vast soft drink market worth $4.6 billion.

Reliance has an aggressive pricing at a higher margin to retailers, which encourages local kirana stores not to move Campa Cola off the top of the shelf. It suits Reliance’s interests while challenging the likes of Tata Consumer Products to rethink their pricing structure. After entering the market, Campa Cola was now compelling Tata to lower its selling price from 30% higher compared to those of competitors to remain ahead of others.

With the festive season on, Reliance has turned on the marketing, cashing in on all that nostalgia attached to Campa Cola, which happens to be the largest brand from the 1970 and 80s. At the festivals that took place recently, Campa Cola offered the product at much lower prices than its rivals—200 ml and 500 ml bottles at Rs 10 and Rs 20 while Coke and Pepsi was selling a 600 ml bottle for Rs 40. This pricing strategy attracts both price-sensitive urban and rural customers; therefore, it is all the more effective in terms of market penetration.

Reliance’s strategy goes beyond competitive pricing, and includes plans for massive investments in bottling plants it expects will increase Campa Cola’s production capacity and distribution. Analysts expect that this financial muscle, combined with its wide network of distribution, will help capture a large share of the expected 5% per annum growth in the beverage market up until 2027.

In a nutshell, Reliance’s strategic revival of Campa Cola with competitive pricing, retailer alignment, and huge investment in production brands the firm as an individual competitor against Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, ushering in an era of change for India’s beverage industry.