Bisleri International has entered the energy drink segment with a non-caffeinated drink, URZZA. With this, Ramesh Chauhan marks his re-entry into the carbonated soft drinks segment 22 years after selling iconic soft drink brands like Thums-Up, Limca, Gold Spot, and Mazza.
Positioned as a great tasting ‘Liquid Charger’, Bisleri URZZA is the first energy drink to be available in PET bottles in India. The non-caffeinated energy drink will have a pan-India roll out by mid-September, it said.
URZZA will be available in 250 ml cans and 300 ml PET bottles priced at Rs. 50 each.
“Being promoted as anytime and anywhere drink, URZZA is set out to create a new segment by making energy drinks more acceptable for any-occasion-consumption. Its unique flavor has been carefully crafted to be liked by all age-groups,” the company said.
The global energy drink market is dominated by Monster, Red Bull and others, who offer caffeinated drinks. However, these drinks, due to their high caffeine content (several times that of a normal cola) have been in the eye of a storm. Very high caffeine content can throw the body’s rhythm into disarray, including heartbeats, and are reported to have led to deaths in certain vulerable patients.
The segment also has certain milk-based players, such as Energee.
“We are very excited to re-enter the category which we exited 22 years back. We have always believed in coming up with innovative offerings for our customers suiting their needs and preferences,” said Chauhan “URZZA is our dream project backed up with years of research and aspiration to offer our consumer something unique and refreshing. With the launch of URZZA, we intend to create a completely new segment combining the aspects of a CSD and an energy drink. We are very optimistic on significantly exploding the energy drink segment in the country.”
Bisleri is India’s biggest packaged water company in India. It has 5 lakh outlets. Bisleri currently leads the mineral water category in India with 60% market share and is growing that on year at the rate of 26% per annum.
URZZA will be rolled out nationally targeting major metros, mini metros, towns and rural markets. The product will be available in the general trade/retail segment, modern trade outlets, corporate and college canteens, multiplexes, airports, bars, clubs, restaurants, mom and pop stores, grocery store, etc.
