I Love You, Rasna

If you ask any '80s or '90s kid, Rasna will only make them nostalgic. The tangy-sweet orange beverage was all that we needed during the scorching summers. Back in those golden days when advertisements were limited in number and it was all about jingles, 'I Love You, Rasna' holds a special place in our hearts. Despite carbonated drinks taking over the market, Rasna is still able to sustain its presence in our hearts.

Rasna Advertisements, Source: The Print

Every time we came back from school, our mothers used to keep our evening snacks ready for us, and Rasna was our favorite constant drink. It is a perfect blend of orange and sweetness brought together in a chilled glass. As kids, we were not allowed to drink aerated sugar sodas like Coca-Cola and Pepsi. So, Rasna was the best alternative that we could have asked for. And the best part was, it was easy to make and easy on our pockets as well.

But what makes this drink a super-hit and everybody's favorite? Isn't it just orange, sugar, and water? How is it different from its competitors? Before we discuss its success, let's see how it all started. As we all know, Parsis are very good businessmen, and one such Ahmedabad-based Parsi businessman was Phirozshaw Khambatta. He started a soft drink concentrate B2B (Business to Business) named 'Jaffe' in the 1940s. He mostly sold in Gujarat with no plan of extension. But in 1962, his son Areez Khambatta joined and operated the business.

Areez Khambatta, Source: Business Today

He understood the market potential and initiated the concept of selling the concentrate to the B2C (Business to Consumer) market as well. Hence, in 1976, they rebranded the product and launched it under the name 'Rasna'. This came at a time when the market was flooded with costly aerated drinks such as Coca-Cola, Limca, and Thums Up. The main aim of the business was to focus on the middle-class group who wanted a more affordable drink. So, the strategy was to sell the product for as little as 5 rupees per box, which made 32 glasses. It was a perfect alternative as joint families were more common in India at that time. One would prefer Rasna over any other drink as one packet served the purpose for all the members of the family.

In 1992, the third generation of the family business began as Piruz Khambatta joined the business at the mere age of 18. He was a born business tycoon with nothing but business in his blood. His strategy was simple: walk with the market trends. He focused more on marketing as television was popularizing during the '90s. All that we Indians watched was Doordarshan. As we know, there were very limited advertisements, and Rasna was the first Indian soft drink to be advertised on national television. The jingle, 'I Love You, Rasna', was a major push to the business. They understood the concept of 'Jo dikhta he wahi bikta he' (which roughly translates to "What is seen, is sold").

Rasna Advertisements, Source: Rasna International

Over time, they have seen all kinds of ups and downs. They faced major competition when Coca-Cola came up with 'Sunfill', which was a concentrated sachet just like Rasna. But that was withdrawn from the market as it could not sustain the competition. Then came Tang, which is still a major competitor of Rasna. With the rise in health-conscious consumers, they entered the healthy drink market by launching ‘Rasna Badam Vita’ and others. They faced failures when they entered the aerated drinks market by launching Orange Jolt and had to withdraw it.

But as failures are a part of every business, the Khambattas have been running the business with sheer excellence and abundant market knowledge. With over four decades in the industry, there have been numerous changes in the way they present themselves in the market and to their dear customers. They have been approached by many companies time and again to buy the brand, but they politely refuse the offer as they are in it for generations to come and will continue to make memories for a long time. 'I Love You, Rasna.