5 ms·

The end is interesting that after the protections were lifted, Thumbs Up and Limca were quickly bought out by Coca-cola for a paltry sum of money ($40m). Seems

by sct202 8y ago

The end is interesting that after the protections were lifted, Thumbs Up and Limca were quickly bought out by Coca-cola for a paltry sum of money ($40m). Seems like all those protections were for nothing in this case.

wutbrodo 8y ago
Important context is that 40m is an incredibly huge sum of money in the context of immediately post-liberalization India. Our intuitions aren't set very well for the kind of explosive economic growth that Asian countries saw post-liberalization, and it's easy to extrapolate backwards too cautiously to the price level of the early 90s.
puranjay 8y ago
Funny thing is that Thumbs Up remains, iirc, the second largest selling cola on the market, substantially more than Pepsi.
amrrs 8y ago
An addendum that in South India, there's a brand called Bovonto (from Kalimark a very old desi brand) and it has really thrived despite the presence of Coke there. The reason I guess is that it's simply making available to appeal and making it appealing like these corporate brands. Availability in many different sizes and almost everywhere from a small petty (box) shop to a decent sized Bakery https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bovonto https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bovonto
- ssivark 8y ago
  Bovonto and "paNeer soda" are two of my favorite drinks one finds in Tamil Nadu and hardly anywhere else! (both are Kali mark products) On a college trip to Rameswaram (southern Tamil Nadu) to watch the 2009 total solar eclipse, I got a whole bunch of friends (~20 people) to try out Bovonto, and boy, were they hooked! It's a pity that we couldn't find any once we left the region.
  - amrrs 8y ago
    I didn't know that Bovonto existed even then. I knew about their Paneer Soda (which they've rebranded now). Anyways, Bovonto would make a great case-study for Entrepreneurs and MBAs how to grow an in-house brand and compete with Global brands.
  - majewsky 8y ago
    > paNeer soda Cheese soda? U+1F928
pm90 8y ago
Isn't that a validation of the value created by locals though? And if they could create successful cola brands, what stops them from creating other things?
iamgopal 8y ago
Thumps up is dangerously close to coke with respect to taste ( and if they have not changed formula, even before that bought them out ) and better than Pepsi which is plain shit.

by sct202 8y ago

wutbrodo 8y ago

Important context is that 40m is an incredibly huge sum of money in the context of immediately post-liberalization India. Our intuitions aren't set very well for the kind of explosive economic growth that Asian countries saw post-liberalization, and it's easy to extrapolate backwards too cautiously to the price level of the early 90s.

puranjay 8y ago

Funny thing is that Thumbs Up remains, iirc, the second largest selling cola on the market, substantially more than Pepsi.

amrrs 8y ago

An addendum that in South India, there's a brand called Bovonto (from Kalimark a very old desi brand) and it has really thrived despite the presence of Coke there. The reason I guess is that it's simply making available to appeal and making it appealing like these corporate brands. Availability in many different sizes and almost everywhere from a small petty (box) shop to a decent sized Bakery https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bovonto https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bovonto

ssivark 8y ago
Bovonto and "paNeer soda" are two of my favorite drinks one finds in Tamil Nadu and hardly anywhere else! (both are Kali mark products) On a college trip to Rameswaram (southern Tamil Nadu) to watch the 2009 total solar eclipse, I got a whole bunch of friends (~20 people) to try out Bovonto, and boy, were they hooked! It's a pity that we couldn't find any once we left the region.
- amrrs 8y ago
  I didn't know that Bovonto existed even then. I knew about their Paneer Soda (which they've rebranded now). Anyways, Bovonto would make a great case-study for Entrepreneurs and MBAs how to grow an in-house brand and compete with Global brands.
- majewsky 8y ago
  > paNeer soda Cheese soda? U+1F928

pm90 8y ago

Isn't that a validation of the value created by locals though? And if they could create successful cola brands, what stops them from creating other things?

iamgopal 8y ago

Thumps up is dangerously close to coke with respect to taste ( and if they have not changed formula, even before that bought them out ) and better than Pepsi which is plain shit.