Ramesh Chauhan on Founder Culture

In this BusinessLine conversation, Chauhan frames the cola business as structurally different from bottled water. Coca-Cola and Pepsi, he says, treat carbonated drinks as a 'bread and butter business' that requires constant attention to carton suppliers and cap suppliers, whereas Bisleri's water business is 'a cash business' that buys on credit and always carries sufficient stock.

Chauhan expresses pride that Thums Up remains India's number one cola despite years of multinational competition. He frames it as 'a great feeling that Thums Up is still number one' and notes that the multinationals' own brands have not been able to overshadow Thums Up — vindication that the Indian-built brand had stronger consumer pull than the global parents who bought it.

Chauhan emphasizes the structural simplicity of running a water business compared to a carbonated-drinks business: he no longer has to worry about glass bottles, sugar, citric acid, food colour or carbon dioxide gas. He is glad 'the headache has moved on to someone else', referring to Coca-Cola.