Reliance Consumer hits it big in 1st year

Reliance Consumer hits it big in 1st year

Reliance Industries’ fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) company clocked ₹3,000 crore sales in FY24, its first full year of operations, with beverage brand Campa Cola alone contributing ₹400 crore, said a senior industry executive aware of the plans.

To put in perspective Reliance Consumer Products’ (RCPL) performance, Emami with five decades of operations reported ₹3,400 crore sales in FY23, while oral care market leader Colgate-Palmolive (India) posted revenue of ₹5,226 crore the same year which marked its eighth decade of operations.

Listed FMCG companies are still to declare financial results for FY24. RCPL formally began operations on November 30, 2022. RCPL, housing brands such as Campa Cola and Independence, aims to continue the sales growth momentum propelled by staples and beverages.

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The company may also raise ₹500-₹700 crore this fiscal from its parent company to set up bottling plants for Campa Cola to boost capacity amid supply constraints.

RCPL’s parent is Reliance Retail Ventures, also the holding company of the group’s retail business. RCPL wants the new bottling plants to be based strategically so they can cater to consumers across the country including kirana stores, the executive said requesting anonymity.

He said Reliance Consumer Products’ FY24 revenue includes ₹1,000 crore earned from more than 200,000 kirana stores where it sells its products and the remainder from Reliance Retail’s network of grocery stores. This financial year, the company has set an internal target of ₹5,000 crore revenue, the executive added.

“There will be a big capital infusion this year into RCPL by the parent company. The amount is yet to be decided but is likely to be in the range of ₹500-₹700 crore since there are plans to set up a few company-owned bottling plants as its earlier strategy to only partner with other bottlers did not work out for a pan-India launch of Campa Cola,” the executive said.

Reliance had acquired the then defunct Campa brand in 2022 for about ₹22 crore. At present, Campa Cola is widely available in the country’s largest cola market Andhra Pradesh, while in most other places, supplies are still a constraint, including Reliance Retail stores.

“Apart from staples, beverages will be the largest business of RCPL. It takes time to order the machinery for bottling plants and hence RCPL will soon receive the capital infusion to set the ball rolling,” the executive said.

Reliance Consumer Products didn’t respond to ET’s queries.

RCPL bottles Campa Cola through contract manufacturers and in a facility which produces Sosyo carbonated soft drink in Gujarat where it has a 50% stake. The company works with contract bottlers in Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and in Maharashtra where it has an agreement with Ghodawat Consumer Products.

In February and March 2023, Reliance Retail Ventures invested ₹277 crore into RCPL by subscribing to optionally fully convertible debentures.

This was the first major capital infusion by the promoters into the business, as per filings made to the Registrar of Companies. The filings also show RCPL has plans to enter each and every FMCG category.

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