Reliance Consumer Products to buy 50% stake in Sosyo Hajoori Beverages

Reliance Retail Ventures Limited (RRVL) said that its FMCG arm Reliance Consumer Products Limited (RCPL) will acquire a 50% stake in Sosyo Hajoori Beverages (SHBPL), a Gujarat-based beverage company.

The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed by Reliance Retail Ventures, which is part of Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries.

Through the deal, Reliance Consumer Products will create a joint venture with the 100-year-old beverage maker whose flagship brand is the Sosyo grape-flavored aerated drink.

The Hajoori family, which is the existing promoter of Sosyo Hajoori Beverages will hold the remaining 50% stake in the Indian beverage company.

Apart from Sosyo, Sosyo Hajoori Beverages manufactures Kashmira, Ginlim, Lemee, Runner, Hajoori Soda, Opener, and S’eau beverage brands among others.

Isha Ambani — Reliance Retail Ventures Executive Director 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.”

Sosyo Hajoori Beverages was established in 1923 by Abbas Abdulrahim Hajoori.

With the joint venture with Sosyo Hajoori Beverages, Reliance Retail Ventures expects to further bolster its portfolio in the beverage segment, which includes the Campa soft drink brand.

Abbas Hajoori — Sosyo Hajoori Beverages Chairman said: “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.

“Combining our relative strengths, we would make the unique tasting beverage products of Sosyo accessible to all the consumers in India. It is a defining moment in our nearly 100-year journey in beverages.”