The saying 'old is gold' has got a new shine in Reliance, India's largest business group. Capitalizing on the nostalgia of Indians, Reliance is reviving brands that were once part of everyday life, including Campa and BPL, to drive growth and new momentum in its consumer business.
Reliance Industries' fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) business, which started with sales of Rs 3,000 crore in FY 2024, grew rapidly to Rs 11,500 crore in the very next year. With sales hitting a staggering Rs 5,400 crore in the July to September FY26 quarter alone, this revival is clearly going down well with consumers. Whereas CAMPA, which is already the largest contributor to Reliance Industries' FMC business, is just the beginning.
The company is breathing new life into old brands like Ravalgaon in confectionery and Velvet in personal care by acquiring them. Reliance is also adopting the same formula in consumer electronics business like television, refrigerator and washing machine. Kelvinter and BPL products, which were once an integral part of Indian homes, are being brought back into the market.
Behind this revival is Reliance's familiar strategy, which includes pricing often 20 to 30 per cent lower than competitors, offering higher margins to lure retailers, and sourcing from local sources and expanding product portfolio as well as rapid expansion of distribution from its own stores to kirana stores and local outlets. This is a strategy that once created a stir in the telecom market. However, this time there is a deep influence of old memories in it.
The path ahead cannot be easy. Campa may have given good results very quickly, but electronics is an expensive and long-term investment. Marketers are debating whether consumers in their 20s and 30s would choose Kelvinter refrigerators, BPL TVs or velvet shower gel over LG, Samsung, Dove or Fiamma – amid a choice of global brands.
Experts say Reliance has two advantages—its strong balance sheet and a strong hold on the market with its own retail stores. Devangshu Dutta, founder and CEO of Third Eyesight, a consulting company in the consumer sector, says in an ET report that Reliance will try to dominate the market in whatever business it enters. Their brands in FMC and Electronics also have good chances to succeed and flourish.
They say that as long as they have capital and management ability, they can move forward on the path to success. The company is entering the FMC and electronics businesses like a startup, but with adequate capital. According to a Reliance official, the strategy is to invest, gain market share, absorb losses and, after achieving large-scale production, increase efficiency to make profits.
The way is ready. FMC business unit Reliance Consumer Products (RCPL), which started as a unit of Reliance Retail Ventures, is now a direct subsidiary of Reliance Industries. This change will help the company raise funds independently and eventually launch an IPO, which will increase the company's valuation independently of the retail business. Electronic business can also follow the same path with expansion.
Industry experts say that it will not be easy for international brands to enter the electronics sector. Global brands have a strong hold in the Indian market and companies like LG, Samsung and Sony have been present for more than two decades, which has strengthened their position. New companies like Haier and Voltas Beko are also rapidly gaining market share.
Pulkit Baid, director, Great Eastern Retail, says that unlike the cola industry, where two big players (Coca-Cola and PepsiCo) dominate, consumer durable products are quite fragmented. Kelvinter inherits brands like the Ambassador car. But we have to see whether Generation Z will embrace it with the same enthusiasm as Campa.
Industry veteran Deba Ghoshal says that in consumer electronics, very few old companies have been able to face the challenge of new age brands. He further says that Tata Group's Voltas and Godrej are exceptions to this.
Ghoshal says Reliance Retail has the strategic foresight to revive its old brands in the consumer durables space, rather than focusing on an independent private label business. There is a strong opportunity in BPL and Kelvinter, provided they are relaunched with strong pricing and attractive emotional connect, and not just limited to price competition. Reliance has the capability; He just needs the right strategy.
Reliance is preparing a campaign for BPL and Kelvinter to connect with the young consumers. The company plans to relaunch beyond Reliance retail stores – targeting regional retail chains and e-commerce platforms and rapidly expanding into smaller cities. While electronics penetration in India is still low—15 to 18 percent for flat-panel TVs, 40 percent for refrigerators, 20 percent for washing machines and less than 10 percent for air conditioners (ACs)—Reliance has ample room for growth.
Angshuman Bhattacharya, partner and national leader of consumer products and retail at EY India, said in an ET report that Reliance's focus may be on tier two and tier three cities. Companies like Samsung and LG have given less priority to these markets because they want to play in the premium segment where profits are higher. Reliance can expand its market here only. This requires a lot of capital in terms of inventory and distribution, and Reliance has the capacity and scope to do so.
Reliance is progressing rapidly in the FMCG sector. Reliance plans to double its distribution network to 30 lakh outlets in this financial year. Over the next three years, the company plans to invest Rs 40,000 crore to build Asia's largest integrated food park and has already invested Rs 3,000 crore in the manufacturing sector.
Isha Ambani, who heads Reliance's retail and FMCG business, had highlighted Campa's return at the company's annual general meeting (AGM) in August, saying Campa-Cola now holds double-digit market share in many states, breaking the 30-year-old monopoly of multinationals Coca-Cola and PepsiCo. Campa Energy gained 2 million followers on social media in just 90 days. They have set a target of reaching Rs 1 lakh crore in FMCG revenue within five years and becoming India's largest FMCG company with global presence.
Market analysts say that such big ambitions require huge investments. Speaking to ET, Kannan Sitaram, co-founder and partner of venture capital firm Fireside Ventures, said that a company like Hindustan Unilever sets aside at least Rs 30-40 crore to launch a brand. More than half of this is spent in advertising and marketing alone. And when you are relaunching a brand which has not been in the market for a long time, the expenses in the first three to four months are 25 to 30 percent more. Nevertheless, analysts believe that Reliance is in the consumer brand business for the long term. Bhattacharya says what Reliance has learned in this short time is important and profound, something that no one else has been able to achieve.
Competitors including Tata Consumer Products, Dabur and PepsiCo's India's largest bottling company Varun Beverages have acknowledged the disruption caused by Reliance in the FMCG sector. But the industry hopes that low penetration levels will ensure space for all. Varun Beverages Chairman Ravi Jaipuria had categorically said in the company's quarterly results at the end of October that they (Reliance) have woken us all up and we are becoming more cautious. This is a very good sign for the country because our per capita consumption is so low that in the next five to ten years, this market can double or triple. There is immense potential in this, and we see only positive aspects in it.
