Coca Cola started as a medicine in 1886.
It grew to become a soft drink and was very successful. In 1923, Robert W. Woodruff, the then President of the company, started selling the drink outside the US.
In 1977, the Coca Cola company was reasonably successful in India.
In that year, the Government of India created a law that required companies to have 60% Indian ownership. For Coca Cola and other foreign firms, this would mean losing ownership of their companies.
As a result of this rule, Coca Cola, and about 50 other companies exited India.
At this time, Thums Up was started by two brothers – Ramesh and Prakash Chauhan. They also owned the Parle company (The Parle-G brand, among others). They also owned some other soft drink brands like Gold Spot and Limca. Both these brands were very popular too. They were all sweetened soda drinks.
Thums Up soon grew to be a bestseller and market leader in the category. Some other brands like 77, Campa Cola, etc. were also present in the Indian market.
In 1993, after a change in policies, Coca Cola entered India again. They bought the portfolio of soft drink brands from Ramesh Chauhan.
In the earnings call held on the evening of 10th February, 2022, Mr. James Quincey, the Chairperson and CEO of the Coca Cola Company, announced that Thums Up has become a billion dollar brand in India.
Thums Up is the first brand of the company to touch 1 billion dollars in annual sales.
The Coca Cola company also reported a 17% increase in its net revenue over the previous year.
“Growth was driven by China, India and the Philippines, partially offset by pressure in Australia due to the impact of the pandemic.” the company said.