Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Consumer Products (RCPL) has secured the India rights for premium juice brand Sun Crush from Muttiah Muralitharan’s company, Ceylon Beverage International, the company has officially announced.
The company has begun local manufacturing of the brand and entered India’s retail juice segment to compete against Dabur’s Real, ITC’s B Natural, Amul Tru, Paperboat, and PepsiCo’s Tropicana, the announcement stated.
Reliance is implementing a pricing strategy similar to its approach in soft drinks and energy drinks, offering Sun Crush at Rs 20 for a 200 ml bottle. Industry executives have noted that this move is expected to intensify competition in the packaged beverage sector, where brands such as Real and Tropicana already have juice drink variants at similar prices.
Sun Crush marks Reliance’s second juice brand after RasKik. “Apart from Dabur, ITC and Tata Consumer are among the companies that have sounded off trade channels on new variants of packaged juices at aggressive prices, promotions and tweaked margins,” according to a top FMCG distributor.
Reliance entered the juice market two years ago with the acquisition of RasKik from entrepreneur Vikas Chawla, former managing director of Coca-Cola South East Europe. The company also has an existing partnership with Ceylon Beverages for contract packaging of Campa and co-creation of energy drink Spinn India, in addition to distribution rights for energy drinks and juices in India.
India’s beverage market is valued at Rs 67,000 crore and is projected to reach Rs 1.47 trillion by 2030 and this includes carbonated soft drinks, juices, fruit-based beverages, and bottled water, according to a report by think tank ICRIER.
Reliance has existing partnerships with Ceylon Beverages for contract packaging Campa and co-creating energy drink Spinner in India, besides distribution rights for energy drinks as well as juices in India.
“We are beginning to invest in marketing to accelerate the presence of the consumer brands business,” Reliance Retail Ventures Chief Financial Officer Dinesh Taluja said. The company’s FMCG total business, which also includes Lotus Chocolates, Maliban biscuits and staples and personal care products under Independence and Good Life, is working towards a reach of one million outlets by FY25.