The acquisition of Jumpin earlier this week signals instant beverage maker Rasna‘s desire to consolidate its position within the ready-to-drink (RTD) segment, valued at nearly ₹100,000 crore. In this interview, Piruz Khambatta, Chairman, Rasna Pvt Ltd, speaks to Alokananda Chakraborty about the opportunity in the RTD category and the reason resurrecting a brand seemed more appealing to the company than launching a new one. Edited excerpts.
What does Jumpin bring to the table?
Recent launches have shown that iconic legacy brands continue to enjoy strong following, with many experiencing successful revivals. Jumpin, with its legacy as a refreshing fruit drink especially beloved by kids and families, truly deserves a relaunch.
The ready-to-drink (RTD) segment is a massive and rapidly growing category, valued at nearly ₹100,000 crore. Within this, fruit-based beverages represent a significant and dynamic sub-category. It’s a highly competitive space with the presence of several multinational as well as strong Indian players, which further validates the potential and consumer demand in this segment.
What are your plans with Jumpin?
We are launching a new range of richer, thicker, and more nutritious drinks fortified with 10 essential vitamins and minerals, including Vitamin C. Additionally, we’ve reformulated the entire portfolio to include lower sugar content to offer healthier options with fewer calories, particularly for today’s health-conscious families and children.
We plan to take Jumpin pan-India, with manufacturing at multiple locations to ensure efficient distribution and availability. For the initial launch, we have identified a range of pack sizes to cater to diverse consumer needs—these include Tetra Pak formats of 125 ml, 200 ml, and 1 litre, as well as PET bottles in 250 ml, 600 ml, and 1.2 litre sizes. We will be launching with four core flavours — mango, guava, lemon and lychee.
When are we going to see the product in the market and which markets first? Any product extensions in the pipeline?
You will see them as early as in June, and the three flavours will be mango, lemon and lychee. We will go with Delhi and the other markets of the north because as a unit north is the biggest beverage market — accounting for 50% of the total beverage consumption in the country.
We also aim to introduce more nutritious product extensions—such as fruit and milk blends, and fruit and malt beverages—to strengthen the brand’s appeal as a wholesome and responsible choice for families.
Will you leverage Rasna’s manufacturing and distribution capabilities?
For manufacturing, we plan to leverage multiple Tetra Pak and PET bottling facilities across the country through toll packing arrangements (that is, when a third-party company handles the packaging of a brand). This will allow us to ensure efficient and widespread production to meet national demand.
On the distribution front, we will adopt a hybrid approach—utilising both our existing network and building new distribution channels where required. Currently, our distribution infrastructure includes over 5,000 stockists, 200 super stockists, 26 warehouses, 5 regional offices, and a dedicated sales force of 900 professionals. This strong network ensures Rasna products are available in over 2 million retail outlets across India, and we will build upon this base to ensure Jumpin reaches consumers in every corner of the country.
Competition is intense. They also have deep pockets. What will you be fighting on: Price, distribution or manufacturing?
We’ve always faced strong competition, and fortunately we’ve maintained market leadership in the powder beverage category for decades. Our launch of Jumpin isn’t about taking market share from others; rather, our focus is on expanding the category by offering differentiated, high-quality products. In fact, I firmly believe that our entry will help grow the overall market.
When it comes to pricing, Rasna has deep roots in the heartland of India, and we are committed to our mass-market pricing strategy. We aim to make Jumpin accessible to a wide consumer base, with prices starting as low as ₹10. This aligns with our long-standing philosophy of offering value without compromising on quality.
Is it easier to launch a new brand or resurrect an inactive brand?
The answer ultimately depends on the strategy. Had our focus been on entering a segment outside of family-oriented or fruit-based beverages, acquiring Jumpin might not have made sense. However, the reality is that per capita consumption of basic fruit beverages in India remains low—even compared to some of our neighbouring countries. This presents a significant opportunity in the basic fruit drink segment, where Jumpin already enjoys strong brand recall.
Jumpin holds a unique place in the market as India’s first Tetra Pak beverage brand, and even today, tetra packs—especially in small formats—remain a highly preferred packaging option. That said, we are not limiting ourselves to Jumpin’s original product portfolio. We are completely revamping it to better align with today’s consumer expectations.
What are your plans with regard to overseas expansion?
We are evaluating the right model for global expansion to ensure long-term sustainability and success. The challenge in a product category like ours is the huge freight cost. Then there are the tariff and non-tariff barriers. So we are not looking at exporting the product but at bottling or franchisee arrangements for markets abroad.