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A tweet from a customer urging Parle Products to bring back its Rola Cola candy got the company thinking about reviving the heritage brand.
On February 17, it put up a Twitter post with the hashtag #BringBackRolaCola. The company decided to seek 10,000 retweets with a post that said: “If all you need is Rola Cola, then all we need is 10 k retweets.”
It now has more than 9,600 retweets, besides receiving a positive response on Facebook and Instagram, and is all set to relaunch the candy brand.
“We had discontinued Rola Cola around 2006 for the domestic market, while continuing to sell it in international markets such as Africa. But when a customer asked us how many retweets we will need to get the candy back on shelves in the country, we responded swiftly,” said Krishna Rao, Senior Category Head, Parle Products.
“As the positive responses started pouring in, we set aim to bring the brand back on retail shelves in about 75 days — after getting 10,000 retweets.”
Relaunch in July
The company plans to relaunch Rola Cola in July and plans to make it available across the country by August. The confectionery will return in the same roll candy format in vintage red, blue and white packaging, priced at ₹5.
Parle also wants to ensure that the candy tastes the same as it did decades ago, when it was first launched.
“We want the brand to have a youthful positioning. Besides consumers who are already familiar with the brand, we will focus in a big way on adding new consumers who are not familiar with it, such as teens and young adults,” said Rao. “Rola Cola was very popular among women, who used to carry it in their purses as a thirst quencher. We also hope to tap into that consumption trend.”
While Parle did not reveal the investments involved in relaunching the brand, it indicated that a significant amount of the investment will go into manufacturing and promoting it across multiple mediums.
“We believe the brand has potential across rural and urban regions and will be sold in both general-trade and modern-trade stores. For the modern-trade channel, we are looking to launch a bigger multiple-pack offering, which will be at a higher price point,” he added.
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