A product and marketing innovator, Piruz Khambatta has made Rasna a household name.
Leading India’s largest and most popular soft drink concentrates brand is a mammoth task, and no one knows this better than Piruz Khambatta. Having joined Rasna Pvt. Ltd. at the age of 18 and armed with a bachelors degree in biochemistry and another in law, apart from several management courses from Wharton School, Philadelphia and Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Calcutta, Khambatta became chairman and managing director of the company in 1997.
The brand that launched a legendary campaign in 1980, “I love you Rasna”, which an entire generation grew up with, recently changed its tagline to ‘Relish a Gain’ with the aim of focusing on the health aspect of the drink. It has now been positioned as an affordable drink for the masses. And the repositioning of the brand is reflected in Rasna’s new ad, which has replaced the endearing little girl with a mischievous kid who is more assertive. Khambatta believes that kids today have a greater say in deciding which products should grace the shelves at home. However, the company has done all this without changing the value-for-money image of Rasna.
Khambatta, a hands-on manager with a knack for zeroing in on successful promotional strategies, has made Rasna a legendary Indian success story. The brand has braved competition from giants like International Best Foods, Unilever, Coca Cola, Rallis and a host of smaller players. Yet the company and brand alike have shown rock-steady market growth and gained a significant market share. Currently enjoying 93 per cent of the pie, Rasna has left its competitors far behind.
With the aim of spreading the message of the health benefits of daily consumption of milk, Khambatta also introduced ‘Rasna Shake Up’. The fruit-drink concentrate maker has also ventured into the fast foods business with Devil’s Workshop, which started in Ahmedabad through franchise outlets. The company, which currently has 44 outlets in Ahmedabad, Pune and Gurgaon, plans to expand the number of outlets to 100 by December 2010 by targetting two more cities — Mumbai and Hyderabad.
Having commenced international operations in 1993, Rasna has been selling soft drink concentrates and instant drink powders and an ethnic range of products to global markets.
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Khambatta’s introduction of the Rasna ‘Ek ka Do’ campaign is cited as the single biggest attempt by a company of this category to grow the market. Armed with down-to-earth marketing, the localisation of the flavour names and the introduction of ‘paan wallah’ salesmen, Rasna has penetrated into the remotest corners of the country and reached out to the masses.
Khambatta has duplicated Rasna’s success in foods, especially with ‘Rasna Spread Maker’ and ‘Rasna International’. With these products Rasna is available in over 40 countries. Its overseas operations make concentrates worth two billion glasses — making it one of the biggest brand concentrate businesses in the world. The company today has a vast product portfolio in exports, comprising instant drinks, sports drinks, low-sugar drinks, soft drink concentrates in both powder and liquid forms, fruit jams, fruit cordial, fruit syrups, pickles, curry paste, and chutneys.
In 2008, under Khambatta’s R&D leadership, Rasna introduced the world’s first fruit powder drink with high content of fruit, vitamin and minerals — Fruit Plus.