Vadodara-based Manpasand Beverages (P) Ltd is set to foray into aerated drinks by next summer. To be launched in three flavours, the drinks will be branded as 'Cola Sip', 'Lime Sip' and 'Orange Sip'. Manpasand has so far been present in ready-to-serve fruit juice markets with its flagship brand 'Mango Sip'. While the company is yet to fix the pricing for the aerated drinks, it has been learnt that the same could be in the range of Rs eight to ten for 200 ml PET bottle.
The aerated drinks will be launched in PET bottles of 200 ml, 600 ml and two litres.
"It has been some time since we have decided to focus on the non-metros and Tier-II and III towns of the country for our ready-to-serve fruit juice products. However, every Tier-II and III towns that we went to demanded cola drinks as well. Hence, we have decided to launch aerated drinks for these markets," said Dhirendra Singh, Chairman, Manpasand Beverages, which currently manufactures 96 per cent mango fruit drink and four per cent of guava, lichee and apple combined, according to a report by Vinay Umarji in the Business Standard.
This apart, Manpasand is also ramping up its current mango, guava, lichee and apple drinks manufacturing capacity at Varanasi and Savli (Vadodara) plants. From the current ten million cases per annum, the capacity is being expanded to 30 million cases per annum at an investment of Rs 100 crore. Of the total capacity, 60 per cent is located at the Varanasi plant, while the rest is at Savli plant in Vadodara.
According to Singh, from a presence in 12 states, the company is now looking at an expansion to 20 states across India. "We are now also going to the district and tehsil levels in these 20 states unlike earlier. The combined expansion in capacity and distribution will help us double our turnover from the estimated Rs 300 crore for 2012-13 to Rs 600 crore in 2013-14," Singh added.