Rasna, the leading powdered drink maker, is charting an expansion into the ready-to-drink beverage space with the acquisition of legacy fruit drink brand Jumpin from Hershey’s.
The deal, concluded in May for an undisclosed sum, marks a strategic move by Rasna to revive the brand while capturing a slice of the ₹1,000-crore ready-to-drink (RTD) market.
Valued at ₹300 crore at the time of purchase, Jumpin was originally launched by Godrej and later managed by Hershey’s India before shutting down during the pandemic. Known for its popularity in the 1980s and 1990s, the brand had a strong consumer base in north India, which accounted for 70 per cent of its sales.
“There is in this country a step-up demand for nostalgic products. Instead of reinventing the wheel, we decided to leverage the brand value of Jumpin, which was the original fruit drink brand,” said Piruz Khambatta, chairman of the Rasna group, in an interaction with The Telegraph.
A healthier twist
Rasna is reintroducing Jumpin with a health-conscious positioning, cutting sugar content by half compared with rival products. The relaunch began on August 15 with a mass-market ₹10 tetra pack. A wider product portfolio — including 125 ml, 200 ml and 1-litre SKUs (stock keeping units) — is in the pipeline, with all variants reformulated to appeal to consumers seeking low-calorie, nutritious options.
The brand’s go-to-market strategy focuses first on India’s smaller towns. “We launched the ₹10 and ₹20 packs first. The real India is in these segments. The ₹100 pack will come later,” Khambatta said. Rasna has partnered with three franchisees across India for packaging.
Rasna continues to dominate the powdered drink segment, commanding over 80 per cent of the Indian market with 64 SKUs. “We are the most distributed and available brand in the category,” he said.
The company reported a growth of 20–25 per cent in the January–April period. However, the early onset of monsoon dampened the May–June sales across the beverages sector. Despite such headwinds, Khambatta remains optimistic about festive demand.
Rasna’s international presence spans 50–60 countries, with recent emphasis on African and West Asian markets. Khambatta said that while political instability in these regions poses challenges, it also opens opportunities for Indian brands that can navigate uncertainties.
GST boost
On the macroeconomic front, Rasna has had some relief as input cost pressures have eased. “The last six months have been better — agri, packaging and logistics prices are down,” Khambatta said.
The company expects to benefit from GST rate rationalisation. From August, GST on fruit-based non-carbonated beverages was cut to 5 per cent from 12 per cent, while the levy on carbonated drinks was raised to 40 per cent from 28 per cent. “We are committed to passing on GST benefits to customers,” Khambatta said.
