Reliance Retail subsidiary announced on Tuesday that it will acquire a 50 per cent stake in Gujarat-based Sosyo Hajoori Beverages.
Reliance Consumer Products, a wholly owned subsidiary of Reliance Retail, has acquired a stake in Sosyo Hajoori Beverages, which operated a beverage business under the ‘Sosyo’ brand.
The existing promoters, the Hajoori family, will retain control of Sosyo Hajoori Beverages (SHB).
SHB, run by Abbas and Aliasgar Hajoori, owns and operates several beverage brands, including Sosyo, Kashmira, Lemee, Ginlim, Runner, Opener, Hajoori Soda, and S’eau.
By leveraging Reliance’s know-how, distribution, and retail network, the joint venture with RCPL is expected to accelerate the growth of Sosyo’s brands.
Speaking on the investment, Isha Ambani, Executive Director, Reliance Retail Ventures Limited, said, “This investment helps us take forward our vision of empowering local heritage brands and presenting them with new growth opportunities. We welcome the desi power of century old Sosyo’s heritage beverage brands to our consumer brand portfolio and are confident that our knowhow, consumer insights and retail distribution strengths will help accelerate the growth momentum of Sosyo.”
“We are delighted to enter into this partnership with Reliance Consumer Products, a strong and willing partner that can help Sosyo rapidly scale up its reach,” said Abbas Hajoori, Chairman, Sosyo Hajoori Beverages Private Limited, of the joint venture with RCPL. “We would make Sosyo’s unique tasting beverage products available to all Indian consumers by combining our relative strengths. It is a watershed moment in our nearly 100-year beverage journey,” he added.
Reliance will expand its beverage portfolio with this joint venture, having already acquired the iconic brand Campa. Furthermore, Sosyo’s formulation expertise can be used to create unique value propositions for the product portfolio and consumers.
Sosyo Hajoori Beverages Private Limited is a leading beverage player based in Gujarat that operates its beverage business under the flagship brand ‘Sosyo’- a heritage Indian brand with over a century of experience in carbonated soft drinks (CSD) and juices. SHB operates a manufacturing plant in Gujarat and has franchises and distributors throughout the state and neighbouring states. It also exports to the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and other countries. Because of its warm patronage, consistent quality, and frequent launches of new flavours, the Sosyo brand has a loyal customer base in Gujarat.
