Looking ahead, Piruz Khambatta says the company expects the ready-to-drink portfolio under the Jumpin label to emerge as a major growth engine in the coming years
Supported by expectations of a longer summer, beverage brand Rasna is targeting 18 to 20 per cent growth in India this summer, driven by expanding distribution, a sharper push into ready-to-drink (RTD) beverages through its Jumpin portfolio and rising demand for Rs 2, Rs 5 and Rs 10 price-point packs.
In an interview with BW Retail World, Group Chairman Piruz Khambatta noted that the company is strengthening its presence across quick commerce and ecommerce platforms, widening rural distribution through super-stockists and sub-stockists and expanding manufacturing through franchisee plants, while also focusing on lower-sugar and nutrient-fortified offerings to align with evolving consumer preferences.
Multi-pronged Strategy
Khambatta said Rasna has rolled out a four-pronged strategy for the summer season, combining a refreshed marketing campaign, product innovation, digital outreach and distribution expansion. The company has brought in actor Rakul Preet Singh as its latest campaign face to appeal to younger consumers and build a playful connect with children through the revival of its ‘Prankies’ campaign.
“We generally bring celebrities every second year… this time we wanted someone who will appeal to the younger generation,” Khambatta said, adding that the campaign blends entertainment with messaging around nutrition and health for kids.
A key focus this year is positioning Rasna as both a tasty and healthier beverage option. Khambatta said the company has introduced its Nutri Plus compound, a blend of Vitamin B12, Zinc and Vitamin C, across 99 per cent of the portfolio to address growing parental concerns around nutrition.
“We also have change our media mix. Now, almost 70 per cent is social media, mostly YouTube, Meta, IPL because here we can tap targeted audiences and the screen time on the mobile has increased a lot. We are able to reach the right person, as we can do micro-targeting as well,” he explained.
The company is also strengthening distribution through ecommerce and quick commerce platforms while launching a dedicated B2B app in partnership with the Confederation of All India Traders, enabling around 30,000 traders to directly procure products from Rasna depots.
“We also signed an MoU with Confederation of All India Traders, where we are having a special B2B Rasna app for them. Their Association members will get Rasna at special prices delivered to them. The whole idea is to remove the middlemen,” he added.
Expectations Of A Longer Summer
Khambatta said Rasna is entering the crucial summer season with adequate inventory and a prepared supply chain, even as the company remains watchful of global disruptions. “Supply chains are generally well prepared… we knew summer is going to come, so we are well stocked,” he said, noting that unexpected global events such as wars can sometimes create logistical shocks.
“I do not expect the monsoon to come early this year like last year, so I do expect a long summer and for us a long summer is very important,” he said. Alongside its core beverage business, the company is also expanding into adjacent categories such as soups and honey, while its Jumpin range is helping drive sales during the off-season months.
On exports, Khambatta said shipments have remained muted due to ongoing global disruptions affecting container movement and logistics. “Exports, after this war started, are almost zero, containers and logistics become a problem,” he said, adding that the company expects export momentum to improve once the situation stabilises.
Domestically, Rasna is sharpening its focus on smaller towns and rural markets, which Khambatta described as the brand’s core strength. Instead of concentrating only on large urban stores, the company is expanding its network through super stockists, sub-stockists and rural salesmen to reach towns with populations of 10,000–25,000.
To further deepen reach in these markets, Rasna is advertising on free-to-air channels such as Star Utsav and Colors Rishtey, while ensuring wider availability of its Rs 2, Rs 5 and Rs 10 packs in smaller towns. “Our strength lies in smaller towns… our major effort is ensuring these small packs reach those consumers,” he said.
Jumpin And Quick Commerce
Speaking about the company’s entry into the ready-to-drink (RTD) beverages segment, Khambatta said the acquisition of Jumpin is central to the company’s long-term growth strategy. According to Khambatta, Rasna’s powdered beverages will continue to remain the core engine in the in-home consumption category, while the RTD portfolio is expected to drive faster growth as the juice drinks market is significantly larger. He described the approach as a “double-engine strategy”, with Rasna leading in powders and Jumpin targeting the expanding ready-to-drink segment.
Khambatta said the company is also tapping into the growing trend of out-of-home consumption, which he believes is rising rapidly as more consumers spend time outside homes for work, school and social activities.
“Outside-home consumption is increasing four times the inside-home,” he said, adding that this shift presents a significant opportunity for RTD beverages. However, he noted that the distribution ecosystem for such products is different, with stronger demand emerging from smaller roadside outlets, kiosks and locations near transport hubs rather than traditional grocery stores.
To support this shift, Rasna is reworking its distribution network and deploying dedicated sales teams to target these consumption points. At the same time, the company is seeing rapid growth from digital channels. Khambatta said ecommerce now contributes around 7 per cent of sales, while quick commerce has grown from zero to 7 per cent within two years.
“Before covid there was no quick commerce, ecommerce was one or two per cent. Today, ecommerce has become seven per cent and quick commerce was zero. From zero, it has become seven in two years. Just imagine the speed,” he emphasised.
Reducing The Sugar
Khambatta explained that Rasna has been actively reformulating its portfolio to reduce sugar levels and offer more consumer choice. He noted that the company has already lowered sugar content across several products, including its ready-to-drink brand Jumpin, which was relaunched with nearly half the earlier sugar content.
“Jumpin earlier had around 13 to 14 brix sugar, we straightaway launched it with seven brix,” Khambatta said, adding that the brand now has one of the lowest sugar levels in the category.
In the powdered beverage segment as well, the company has introduced lower-sugar options across multiple price points. Khambatta said Rasna’s Rs 10 pack that makes three glasses contains around four grams of sugar per glass, significantly lower than competing products. “We are at the forefront of reduced sugar products,” he said.
Khambatta said the company’s portfolio is steadily shifting toward healthier formulations. Nearly 50 per cent of Rasna’s products now contain reduced sugar, while 20 to 30 per cent of the portfolio has no sugar, allowing consumers to add sugar as per preference. “If you want a concentrate with less sugar, Rasna gives you those options,” he said, adding that while the company has also experimented with zero-sugar variants in the past, consumer taste preferences in India still favour some level of sweetness.
“Overall, if you see in the concentrate category, Rooh Afza is full sugar, Kissan squash is full sugar and Tang is full sugar. In my category, if you want a concentrate or a dilutable with less sugar Rasna is the only company which gives you those options,” he said.
Growth Drivers And Overseas Markets
Khambatta said that demand across the beverage industry is increasingly being led by smaller and affordable pack sizes, particularly the Rs 5 and Rs 10 price points. According to Khambatta, these packs have become the “sweet spot” for consumers across categories.
He pointed out that across the ready-to-drink beverage market, including brands from The Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo, Rs 10 packs account for nearly 60 per cent of the market, reflecting strong demand for low-ticket purchases.
Khambatta noted that the shift toward smaller packs is also linked to changing consumption behaviour and rising health awareness. Consumers are increasingly opting for smaller portion sizes such as 125 ml or 150 ml packs instead of larger formats as a way to moderate sugar intake.
“People think the larger packs are growing, but actually the growth is coming from the smaller packs,” he said. Within Rasna, the company is scaling production of its smaller packs to match this demand. “We are doing double the production of a Rs 10 pack,” he noted.
Looking ahead, Khambatta said the company expects the ready-to-drink portfolio under the Jumpin label to emerge as a major growth engine in the coming years. While Rasna’s powdered beverage business already enjoys strong market penetration, he said the RTD category offers a much larger opportunity as it continues to expand across new outlets.
“The juice market is much bigger… we expect Jumpin turnover to grow almost three times,” he said, adding that the brand could become a key revenue driver over the next few years. On the export front, Khambatta said the company is shifting its focus beyond traditional NRI-heavy markets toward Africa, where Rasna sees strong long-term potential.
The company has started appointing distributors in countries such as Somaliland, Ethiopia and Nigeria, while continuing to build presence in South Africa. Khambatta also said recent free trade agreements (FTAs) signed by India are opening new opportunities for processed food exports, allowing Indian manufacturers to access international markets more competitively. “In my opinion, Africa can be the next India,” he said.
