Coca-Cola to revive Citra in India after 19 years

Coca-Cola bought the clear-lime drink from Parle-Bisleri founder Ramesh Chauhan in 1993, but scrapped it, in favour of Sprite. Citra was acquired along with other brands such as Limca, Thums Up and Gold Spot.

Analysts believe the return of Citra is more to target price-sensitive consumer segments than to unlock the brand’s heritage value.

“After keeping the brand in cold storage for so many years, it’s strange they want to re-introduce it now, especially when they have a strong presence in the clear-lime segment,” Chauhan said. “If they are looking for retention and heritage value, then logically even Gold Spot should be revived.”

According to the report, Citra will be priced about 20% cheaper than existing lime-lemon drinks such as Coke’s own brands Sprite and Limca – as well as PepsiCo’s Mountain Dew and 7 Up – to target a wider audience and take on smaller brands.

The lime-lemon category is growing fast in India – at almost 16-17% a bit ahead of colas which stand at 11-12% and orange drinks at 8-9%.

Source: The Economic Times

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