Ramesh Chauhan on White-Space Creation

After The Coca-Cola Company exited India in 1977, Parle Exports entered the carbonated drinks segment with Thums Up (cola), Limca (lemon-flavoured) and Gold Spot (orange-flavoured). To complement its soft drinks portfolio, Parle launched mineral and carbonated water under the Bisleri brand name — the first time the water business was commercially pursued, in PVC bottles initially, switching to PET in the mid-1980s.

Bisleri re-entered carbonated drinks in 2016 with Bisleri Pop — four soft-drink variants including Limonata, Fonzo, Spyci and Pina Colada — exploiting the expiry of the 2008 non-compete clause that had kept Parle out of carbonates since the Coca-Cola sale. The re-entry illustrates how a non-compete's expiry can reopen a category for an incumbent brand, and how Chauhan used Bisleri's water-distribution moat as a launchpad for adjacent beverages.

In 1969 the Chauhan brothers Ramesh and Prakash acquired the brand for Rs 4 lakh and launched it in India in glass bottles in Bubbly and Still variants. Chauhan later told Business Today that selling packaged drinking water was never in his business plans — Bisleri Soda had demand from five-star hotels, which is why he bought out the company.

After selling the cola portfolio, Chauhan concentrated on bottled water — in which he tells BusinessLine he maintains a leadership position despite all competition. He frames the choice as a deliberate strategic refocus on a category whose cash economics suited his operating style, rather than as a retreat from carbonates. The water business had lower volatility, less supplier complexity and no franchise-related governance strain.