Competitive market: Goan brand taking on big boys of carbonated drinks

A leading Indian soft drink manufacturing company from Goa, Cotyar Beverages has succeeded not only to sustain but to thrive in the highly competitive market and without compromising on the price factor. It has expanded in the neighbouring state of Maharastra and plans to expand its product line even further

| MAY 20, 2019, 03:03 AM IST

BHARATI PAWASKAR  


It is peak summer and everyone looking for something to quench their thirst and when it comes local Goan brands that have ruled the state for decades, the first name that pops up in the mind is that of Cotyar Beverages. Witnessing a humble beginning, this brand has succeeded to make space for itself in the already overcrowded market of soft drinks.  

“It is my visionary father Govind Desai who started with the manufacturing of soda water at Fatorpa at his unit Coldima Soda Industries in 1981. The journey from then to 2019 is a long but very interesting one. A decade later the name changed to Cotyar Beverages but the product line was same and the brand name now was J-Jal. We grew and crossed borders, penetrating in the neighbouring states of Maharashtra and Karnataka,” recalls Yuvaraj Desai, marketing executive, Cotyar Beverages.  

An MBA in marketing, Yuvaraj is looking after the helm of business with his father for over a decade now, manufacturing popular brands of soft drinks and fruit juices like N Jal, Trik, Fruizy, Dynamix and 9X - some of which are already in the market, while two among them - Dynamix and 9X are soon-to-be-launched energy drinks. His younger son Pruthviraj Desai, also an MBA in marketing is handling their corrugation unit that manufactures around 20 tonnes of paper cartons at Cuncolim Industrial Estate.  

Govind Desai mentions proudly that their soda was served in glass bottles in 1980s which they have maintained even today. “Cotyar Beverages have still maintained 20-30 per cent of our production in glass bottles whereas the rest has been shifted to Pet bottles gradually in 2003-05. N-Jal comes as packaged drinking water, and in variety of flavours in carbonate drinks like soda, cola, orange, lime, clear lime, lime soda, pineapple, ginger, jeera and mango – both in glass as well as Pet bottles,” shares Govind.

Valuing the customers’ demands, the company has developed unique pack sizes of 300 ml glass bottles and pet bottles of 1 litre, 600 ml, 500 ml, 300 ml, 250 ml.   

Cotyar Beverages launched their new brand Trik in 2008. Trik comes in premium mixtures like Club soda, Tonic water, Bitter Lemon, Ginger Ale and Jeera. As their other products, Trik too was picked up by the customers in and outside Goa. The sales are 50-50, in Goa and outside Goa. Encouraged by the positive response from the customers, Desais kept innovating and adding new natural flavours in Trik like aam panna, mango, nimboo paani, spicy kokum, orange, apple and mixed fruit.  

“The next in line will be flavours like jeera-alovera, sugarcane, coconut water – all made with natural ingredients. For example, we have replaced citric acid with lemon juice and since using natural ingredients adds to the cost factor, the prices of any of our brands are higher than other brands in the market,” explains Yuvaraj, adding, “It was two years ago that we launched our natural fruit juice brand Fruizy which is very much in demand in Mumbai. We have plans to manufacture flavoured milk in tetra packs.”  

Summers hike up the sales and Cotyar Beverages manufactures 20 to 30 per cent more of their regular production capacity of 2000 cases per day at their Balli unit. Sharing their expansion plans, Yuvaraj mentions that the company has set up another unit to manufacture Fruizy at Sanguem Industrial Estate, with a production capacity of 3000 cases per day. This new unit is set up in 11,000 sq mt area and will kick-start production on the occasion of Dussehra.

There is more demand for soft drinks than sodas, admits Yuvaraj who has registered the name ‘Crunet’, which was once Goa’s oldest brand of soda, and began manufacturing it just two months ago. “I am happy to retain this name that has fond memories in the minds of Goans. And Crunet has lot of demand in Mumbai,” he adds with joy.  

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