How the humble nimbu soda helped Coca-Cola build a ₹1,500-crore brand in India

Summer in India is a time of sweltering heat. Over decades, Indians have adopted their own strategies to combat the fury of the sun god. Beyond the sunscreens and the pool dips that are Western imports, our people have always turned to effective hydration—from the mango lassi to the jaljeera and thandai to the chaas (spiced buttermilk). While most of these change from state to state, town to town, there are a handful of summer drinks that enjoy a pan-Indian appeal. One such drink is the nimbu soda.

Naranga soda, nimbe soda, lime soda—different ways to order, it is the same thing. Indian lime (the more acidic, smaller cousin of the lemon) squeezed, salt or sugar or both stirred in, topped with carbonated water a.k.a. soda.

Now ubiquitous in India, this easy-to-prepare drink spread to most of the country dethroning the infamous banta/goti/goli soda (lemon-flavoured soda in a marble-codd-neck bottle) after beverage giants Pepsi and Coca-Cola (re)entered India in the nineties.

By 2000, Coca-Cola introduced the Kinley brand with bottled drinking water. But what really took off was another offering in the same name. Thus began the steady growth of one of the most iconic brands under the global beverage giant—Kinley Soda.

Fast forward 25 years, and Coca-Cola India announced that Kinley Soda amassed a whopping ₹1,500 crore in revenue from the Indian market. Years of Coca-Cola’s focus on supply chain, making the soda readily available in even the most remote of areas—from travelling beverage shacks to supermarkets, paid off. Kinley Soda is now the undisputed king in its category.

The company’s Indian arm reiterated the brand’s reputation as a “dependable” soda during the announcement on Friday, in a nod to “street-side thelas” with their “nimbu soda” juicemasters across the country, moving the Coca-Cola product at an unprecedented pace. According to recent figures, Kinley Soda is available in over 14 lakh retail outlets in India—from your neighbourhood kirana store to quick-commerce retailers such as Swiggy and Blinkit, and the D-Marts and the Reliance Smart Bazaars.

Coca-Cola attributes the success of the Kinley brand to building “consumer trust” through a “demand-led portfolio” and its strategy of making the soda easily available to consumers. Vinay Nair, Coca-Cola India and Southwest Asia Vice President, Franchise Operations, Developing Markets, recently told agencies how they pulled it off: “We have focused on execution, not exaggeration, and that discipline sets our portfolio apart. By listening deeply and innovating with intent, we have expanded the brand across every channel.”

India is a key market for Coca-Cola. Last fiscal year (FY2024), India, along with Brazil and Mexico, pushed the unit case volumes of the company by 1 per cent year-on-year.

Apart from having a volley of brands in the country, Coca-Cola entered the cafe space in India in the past half-a-decade with its Costa Coffee brand through Devyani International Limited, its franchise partner that also operates Pizza Hut outlets.

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