Rasna eyes 30% biz from tie-ups

Rasna, the leading softdrink concentrate manufacturer, is expecting around 30 per cent of its revenues through its collaborations with organisations like Cafe Coffee Day, Indian Railways, Sahara Airlines, Big Bazaar, Spencer's and Food Plaza from this year onwards.

The company claims to hold 97 per cent share in the soft drink concentrate (SDC) market and plans to establish a wider presence with other organisations in addition to its 17,00,000-strong dealer network in the country.

The company is also mulling to enter the food segment in the near future.

"Entering into food products would give the company a diverse profile and supplement our healthy market share in the SDC market. In addition, new products in the beverage segment are in the pipeline in the coming few months," said Aurobindo Mohanty, vice-president - Marketing, Rasna.

The market for fruit juice in India is reported to be around Rs 600 crore and said to be growing at 30 per cent every year. In a bid to capitalise on the projected growth, Rasna would be concentrating on the mocktail segment through its Juc-fit granites.

The company has launched its first assortment of mocktails called Signature Mocktails which, according to Mohanty, is part of the company's evolving strategy to target the youth.

"The phenomenal response of our Juc-fit granitas received at Cafe Coffee Day prompted us to introduce youth-centric products like mocktails, for which we plan to collaborate with other organisations as well," said Mohanty.

However, the company claimed that it hasn't been overtly affected by the pesticide cola controversy.

"There has not been any dramatic increase in sales because of the cola boycott. Sales pick up on their own during festive seasons and this has nothing to with the controversy surrounding colas," said Benaisha Khambatta, director, Rasna.